Voter Share Gap

Despite record turnout, the share of Black voters was less than the share of Black registrants in more than 95% of Southern counties in 2020.

Vote share gap for Black voters in the 2020 general election

Percentage point difference between % of registered voters and % of voters who are Black

Source: Fair Count, based on 2020 election vote history and racial data from the TargetSmart national voter file. Notes: In counties with no data, Black voters make up less than 0.5% of registered voters in the county. Positive values indicate that the Black vote share is less than the Black registration share in a particular county.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, the 2020 election saw turnout rates surge nationwide, reaching a record high of 67%.¹ In 44 states, voter turnout rose from 2016, and nationwide turnout improved for Black, Latino, and Asian Americans.^2,3 Even in the wake of these overall improvements, disparities persisted between racial groups.

Vote share gaps tend to occur when the electorate does not closely match the demographics of the community. In the South, and across the nation, white voters tend to vote well over their share of the electorate and communities of color tend to vote under their share. In the South, Black vote share gaps occurred in more than 95% of Southern counties and more than a quarter of Southern counties had a Black vote share gap greater than 2%.

Significant challenges to improving these disparities exist. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which was gutted in 2013, required preclearance before changing voting laws in 8 Southern states – where some of the largest Black vote share gaps exist today.^4,5 Additionally, existing voting restrictions, and the barriers proposed in new legislation to make it harder to vote, have been shown to disproportionately impact voters of color and therefore pose a serious challenge to reaching equitable access to the ballot box (State voting laws).⁶

1. “Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2020”. U.S. Census Bureau. April, 2021. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/voting-and-registration/p20-585.html

2. “Turnout in 2020 election spiked among both Democratic and Republican voting groups, new census data shows”. Frey. Brookings. May, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/turnout-in-2020-spiked-among-both-democratic-and-republican-voting-groups-new-census-data-shows/

3. “Large Racial Turnout Gap Persisted in 2020 Election”. Morris, Grange. Brennan Center for Justice. August, 2021. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/large-racial-turnout-gap-persisted-2020-election

4. “5 Reasons Why Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act Enhances Our Democracy”. Bathija. Center for American Progress. February, 2013. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/5-reasons-why-section-5-of-the-voting-rights-act-enhances-our-democracy/

5. “About Section 5 Of The Voting Rights Act”. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-section-5-voting-rights-act

6. “The Impact of Voter Suppression on Communities of Color”. Brennan Center for Justice. January, 2022. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/impact-voter-suppression-communities-color