Brentin Mock is a New Orleans–based journalist who serves as lead reporter on Voting Rights Watch, a reporting partnership of Colorlines.com and The Nation, covering the challenges presented by new voter ID laws, suppression of voter registration drives, and other attempts to limit electoral power of people of color. In his previous position as senior editor at The Loop 21, Brentin also covered electoral politics with a significant amount of reporting on voter ID issues.
In New Orleans, Brentin also works as web editor for the online, citizen-journalist driven blogsite Bridge the Gulf and helped launch the New Orleans online investigative news site The Lens. He previously worked at The American Prospect as a reporter and blogger covering environmental justice issues through a fellowship awarded by the Metcalf Institute for Environmental Reporting. Brentin also served on the staff of the national magazine Intelligence Report, published by Southern Poverty Law Center, investigating hate groups and anti-immigrant nativist extremists.
Brentin's professional career began in his native city of Pittsburgh, working as managing editor of the African-American community newspaper Renaissance News before joining the staff of the alternative newsweekly Pittsburgh City Paper. His work has been published in GOOD, the Root, the Daily Beast, Newsweek.com, the Grio, The Atlantic, Next American City, Truthout.org, Alternet, Vibe.com, XXL, The Source and Religion Dispatches.
Follow Brentin at @bmockaveli.
Voter suppression efforts in Virginia and Florida have galvinated activists to fight harder to protect--and expand--the vote in 2016.
Republican Governor Bob McDonnell is restoring the voting rights of more formerly incarcerated residents than any previous administration. And it’s still a drop in the bucket.
The former black congressman became a star among tea partiers after coming out in support of Voter ID laws.
Many of Florida’s ex-felons are receiving conflicting information on their voting rights. That could spell disaster in November.
Plugged into the framework of far right organizations, True the Vote has “empowered” a zealous group hellbent on intimidating would-be voters.
If GOP lawmakers get their way, voting will become much more difficult in the Sunshine State.
A spinoff of the King Street Patriots Texas Tea Party, True the Vote aims to have 1 million poll watchers in place by November.


