As Alabama Heads to the Polls For a Second Primary, Organizers Want to Keep Black Voters Engaged

Alabama voters in four congressional districts are being asked to do something that sounds almost unthinkable today: vote again.

Voters in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts are returning to the polls on Tuesday after already casting ballots in the state’s May primary. It comes after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to gut Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, we previously reported. The Root talked to two organizers on the ground watching the historic election unfold: Anneshia Hardy, executive director of Alabama Values, and Shayla Mitchell, Alabama Election Protection Coalition coordinator and Defend the Ballot digital organizer.

Their job right now is part voter education, part damage control–and part helping Black voters understand what just happened to their political power. And as Hardy stressed to us, Alabamians are about to make history whether they like it or not.

“This is a disruption and uncertainty, especially for groups who already are second-guessing politics,” she told The Root. “Alabamians have already voted, and we are going back to vote again. It’s almost like they threw out those votes, and we have to tell the story– the whole story about why.”

RELATED: Southern Black Democrats Call Out Party Neglect Amidst Redistricting Battles

As we previously reported, a partisan redistricting fight changed the congressional landscape across the South. In Alabama, legislatures forced a special primary, leaving voters to navigate new districts, different candidates and a political process that many thought they had already completed. The battle over Black representation in Alabama dates back generations, but for Black voters in 2026, redrawing districts and axing Black candidates has led to widespread confusion. As Hardy told us, her organization wants to help Black voters understand what’s happening and keep them engaged in the election process.

“Somebody has to explain to the person in Montgomery or Birmingham why they’re voting again,” Hardy said. “Somebody’s got to tell them what the new congressional district is. We’ve got to help folks find their polling place. Somebody has to explain why the candidate they voted for in May is no longer on the ballot.”

She was clear, however, that the battle Alabamians are facing has less to do with residents refusing to go to the polls. Nearly one million Black people are registered in the state, according to the Alabama Secretary of State.

“I need people to understand that this is a very unusual situation,” Hardy explained of the Aug 11 primary. “They are really voting inside a political landscape that was disrupted by this ongoing fight for Black political representation.”

So for her, deeming this a turnout problem doesn’t quite capture the moment. “What we’re calling apathy is actually discernment,” she said. “They’re paying attention. They voted, they organized, they watched these fights happen and win in courts, and then they watched the rules change again when they had a little victory.”

As a Defend the Ballot digital organizer, Mitchell is hearing that confusion directly from voters.

“Do I need to go vote? What is my district? Who do I need to vote for?” she told us. In addition to logistics, organizers like Mitchell are making the November election relevant by focusing on issues people encounter every day.

“We’re making it clear what’s on the ballot as opposed to who’s on the ballot,” she explained. “We have to get them to understand how these policies affect them.”

In Alabama, hospital closures, food deserts, maternal health, water systems, power bills and the state’s prison system are all at the top of Black voters’ minds. According to Mitchell, all the larger partisan debates don’t land with local voters.

“I can’t go talk to them about fluff,” Mitchell said. “I have to get to their stuff.” That means door-knocking, phone calls, voter education and community outreach – but also what Hardy calls political and narrative education.

“We’re in a political war, but at this point, we’re also in a narrative war, because who controls the narrative controls the power,” the director continued.

Both experts argue that Black people – and all Americans – should be paying attention to how Black political power is being treated in Alabama. Those consequences extend beyond the state’s borders.

Micthell added, “We’ve gotten to the point where if it ain’t my household, it don’t have anything to do with me.” She argues that’s a future recipe for disaster.

“It’s important to get people involved and enveloped in the space, in a way they feel comfortable, so we don’t lose the recipe,” she continued. “And we don’t lose them either.”