The 2024 general elections demonstrated increased attempts to threaten Black political power — but also historic growth of thatsame power. For the first time in U.S. history, a Black and South Asian woman was the presidential nominee for a major party.

Black voters in Alabama and Louisiana gained new congressional districts and were able to elect their candidates of choice as a result of the Legal Defense Fund’s (LDF) successful litigation in Allen v. Milligan and Robinson v. Landry, respectively. Alabama now has two Black representatives serving simultaneously in Congress. And, over 100 years after one of the worst race massacres in the country took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921, Tulsa elected its first Black mayor. Black voters in New York, Virginia, Connecticut, and Minnesota also acquired critical protections for fair voting access through the passage of State Voting Rights Acts, which LDF has played a leading role in helping enact.

Voters now have the opportunity to build on these positive developments and use them as motivation for further political engagement, beyond presidential elections. But in order for this nation to truly live up to its ideals and fulfill the demands of a multi-racial democracy, policymakers must address the remaining serious barriers to Black political participation.

In LDF’s Democracy Defended 2024 report, readers will find analyses of election-protection activities undertaken by LDF during the 2024 election cycle as well as recommendations for policymakers, election administrators, and community members to ensure fair access to the vote in future elections. The report proposes solutions to the issues identified during the most recent elections, including renewed calls for Congress to finally pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.