Mississippi has a history of voter suppression. Many see signs of change as Black voters reengage

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A few years ago, Tiffany Wilburn just didn't see the point in voting any longer.

Her children didn't have proper school books, health insurance was expensive and hard to get, police abuse continued against Black residents, and her city's struggle to get clean drinking water seemed emblematic of her community always coming out on the short end of state decision-making.

Combine that with Mississippi's long history of voter suppression and she felt casting a ballot was simply a hopeless exercise.

"It's like you're not being heard," Wilburn said in her hometown of Jackson, the state capital. "You run to the polls, hoping and praying for change, and then you look around and nothing's really happening. So you shut down."

Recent interviews with Black voters, voting rights groups, candidates and researchers show that the voter fatigue felt by Wilburn has been widely shared in a state where nearly 40% of the overall population is Black. This year, political dynamics have combined to begin changing that, leading many voters such as Wilburn to reengage.