When election fatigue hits Georgia | US Elections 2024

With 130 days to go until the US presidential election, Georgia voters are already being heavily courted. Especially African-Americans who are showing signs of electoral fatigue with Joe Biden, even though they gave him a boost four years ago to elect him president.

While the sun beats down on the capital with temperatures of more than 35 degrees, a team of New Georgia Project braves the scorching heat to wander an affluent residential neighborhood in southwest Atlanta.

Their mission is clear: go door to door to register voters who are not yet in the registers. Among the team of this group which defines itself as non-partisan, Simran Jadavji wants to broaden the electorate, especially among so-called marginalized citizens such as African-Americans and young people.

But, easier said than done, because the doors often remain closed. %, it’s not good or bad, it’s the facts, she said. The reality is that it takes so much effort to have a conversation with someone, to engage them, to get them to vote, it takes sustained, committed effort.”,”text”:” Our success rate is around 10%, it’s not good or bad, it’s the facts, she said. The reality is that it takes that much effort to have a conversation with someone, to engage them, to get them to vote, it takes a sustained, committed effort.”}}”>Our success rate is about 10%, it’s not good or bad, it’s the facts, she said. The reality is that it takes so much effort to have a conversation with someone, to engage them, to get them to vote, it takes sustained, committed effort.

Less than five months before the presidential election, enthusiasm is not necessarily there in a state which, four years ago, had not elected a Democratic president since Bill Clinton in 1992.

The margin that allowed President Biden to win was only 0.23%, or 11,779 votes difference with Donald Trump. Hence his famous call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, asking him to find 11,780 votes to overturn the official result.

A traditionally Democratic electorate

In a small local merchants’ market in Atlanta, opinions of African-Americans who voted for Joe Biden are divided. Like Simone, 26, who sells jewelry. She is not sure that she will vote again for Joe Bien, at the risk of giving victory to Donald Trump.

Yes, there is that possibility, it’s like you vote so someone doesn’t win, or you vote with your heart, or you don’t vote and you miss somethingshe explains.

Earl, 36, has made his choice. I’m going to vote for Joe, Sleepy Joe, even though he’s asleep, as you know. I can’t vote for Donald Trump. I don’t understand those who vote for himhe says.

Her friend Tiana, a 34-year-old single mother, does not yet know if she is going to vote. I had high hopes that my student loan debt would be forgiven, but that wasn’t the case. This left a bitter taste in my mouth because I felt like Joe Biden broke his promise and that my vote didn’t really mattershe believes.

Widespread electoral fatigue

Jeffrey Lazarus, a political science professor at Georgia State University, says election fatigue affects everyone. I watched a baseball game this weekend and have already seen ads for Trump and Biden, even though we are still five months from the election. This is one of the reasons for this wearinesshe maintains.

Another reason for this disinterest, according to him, is that from the point of view of the Democrats the stakes of these American elections, with the advent of Trumpism and the MAGA wing (Make America Great Again) of the Republican Party, it is not only a disagreement on the political level, but a disagreement on democracy itself.

Democrats have been facing this problem for a decade. In fact, there is a whole generation of voters who don’t know that that’s not how it always happens. This is why Democrats are very tired because they have had to fight so hard for so long to try to maintain control, because for them losing control of government means serious democratic backslidinghe said.

However, he doubts that the efforts to register voters several months before the presidential election will really result in mobilization on voting day.

Black vote for Trump?

But what about the African-American vote, so crucial to Joe Biden in Georgia? Polls show that some young black voters are now leaning toward the Republican candidate.

Jeffrey Lazarus remains doubtful. The headlines have made a big deal out of it, making it seem like there’s going to be a mass exodus of black voters to Trump or that there’s going to be a massive demobilization, based on dissatisfaction with Biden. I’m not so sure that’s going to happen.he analyzes.

No mass exodus, according to him, but in a key state like Georgia, a few percentage points can make all the difference, it can give a candidate victory or cause his defeat.

Democratic mobilization in churches

Within Democratic ranks, the line between faith and politics is increasingly thin.

At the Baptist Church First Iconium of Atlanta, mobilization for the presidential election is actively encouraged. Among the crowd of exclusively African-American faithful, Shawn Smith, one of the pastors, deplores the political climate which is causing a demobilization of voters.

He highlights the threat to democracy if Donald Trump returns to power. Trump’s message that the system is rigged, that the system is unfair, resonates with African Americans. But we must go beyond the messagehe believes.

He does not think that his peers will mainly follow Donald Trump in this presidential election.

years ago”,”text”:”He says he is sensitive to what our community has experienced, but we know his policies do not go in that direction. This is the message we must continue to send to our communities, that his policies will hurt us more than anything else. They took us back at least 50 years”}}”>He says he’s sensitive to what our community has been through, but we know his policies don’t support that. That’s the message we need to continue to get out to our communities, that his policies will hurt us more than anything else. They’ve set us back at least 50 years.he points out.

Among the issues likely to mobilize African-Americans, there is one that could cause a surprise, especially in the context of the Christian faith: abortion.

: \”Okay, we don’t support abortions, but now, even though we don’t support abortion, we support a woman’s right to choose.\”.”,”text”:”Faith is a place where we have always tried to be apolitical, impartial, he explains. But this year, I think faith stood up and said there is a call to humanity. And it’s amazing because a few years ago, Faith would have stood up and said, “Okay, we don’t support abortions, but now, even though we don’t support abortion, we support women’s right to choose\”.”}}”>Faith is a place where we have always tried to be apolitical, impartial, he explains. But this year, I think faith stood up and said there is a call to humanity. And it’s amazing because a few years ago, faith would have stood up and said, “Okay, we don’t support abortions, but now, even though we don’t support abortion, we support women’s right to choose.

Will these all-out efforts bear fruit among Georgia’s progressives? In any case, everything is good for mobilizing. As for the group New Georgia Project who will continue to go door to door all summer in blazing heat, as Simran Jadavji promises.

doors, we only manage to talk to ten people, it’s fabulous. And if we don’t succeed, we won’t abandon this neighborhood, we will come back to attack”,”text”:”If, out of 100portes, we only manage to talk to ten people, that’s fabulous . And if we don’t succeed, we won’t abandon this neighborhood, we will come back.”}}”>If, out of 100 doors, we only manage to talk to ten people, that’s fabulous. And if we don’t manage to do that, we won’t abandon this neighborhood, we’ll come back.she promises.

The mission will not be easy, she acknowledges, but she will be supported. Even at the risk of further fueling this electoral fatigue.