On Wednesday, October 29, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released a report on black voter turnout and the 2014 midterm elections. The report was co-authored by Tyson King-Meadows, Chair of the Africana Studies Department and Associate Professor of Political Science, and Andra Gillespie, Associate Professor of Political Science and Interim Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Emory University.

The report determined that black voters are a critical component of the electorate in 17 competitive gubernatorial and Senate races across the country. It also found that black voter participation declines in midterm elections, and "assuming a black vote share identical to 2010, the 2014 midterm election cycle will be a challenging year for Democrats, even with overwhelming African-American support."

In conducting research for the report, King-Meadows and Gillespie analyzed national and state-specific registration and voting patterns, black-white differences in participation and in candidate preference, and the dynamics of interracial coalitions needed to secure Democratic victories.  To read the full report, click here.