AP PHOTOS: From the Atlantic coast to the Sahelian plain, Ramadan brings West Africans to the table

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Each night, throughout Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, families gather, neighbors share food freely and communities come together around beloved culinary traditions that carry both comfort and meaning.

Quiet hunger gives way to the clattering of plates as the sun sets each night and Muslims end their day-long fasts. In homes, mosque courtyards and under the warm glow of streetside food stalls, believers gather to share meals woven with tradition, faith and the warmth of community.

Ramadan is not just another month on the Islamic calendar, it’s the heart of the year for believers. From dawn until sunset, Muslims refrain from food and drink, using the time for self-reflection, devotion and spiritual awareness. And it’s a national event in Muslim-majority countries throughout West Africa, where more than half of the population is Muslim, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

In coastal Senegal, volunteers lather a spiced fish paste made of local sardinella onto bread, making sandwiches to hand out during ndogou — the wolof word for iftar — the meal in which Muslims break their fasts. In Ghana, women pour corn dough and cassava into a silver pot to make a doughy base for a dish called tuo zaafi. They then serve it to those in need with a traditional stew made with tomatoes, spices and ayoyo. In Nigeria, volunteers pile mountains of onions into steaming cauldrons of rice, stirring up the pungent magic of jollof.

In Sahelian countries like Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, families prepare pungent peanut stews with meat and onions, incorporating local culinary staples into their nightly feasts.

Islam may be most commonly associated with the Arab world, but its roots run deep across many parts of the globe, notably in West Africa. Muslims make up large majorities in most of the countries along the region’s Atlantic coastline and in its Sahelian plains, including Ghana, Mali and Senegal.

Increased demand for meat, fruits and vegetables during Ramadan can drive up food prices, making festive meals unaffordable for many. However, volunteer organizations in cities like Dakar and Accra, the capitals of Senegal and Ghana, intensify their efforts in the spirit of generosity that defines the holy month.

Rabi and her children break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan at their home in Nima, Accra, Ghana, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Asana and her daughter break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan at their home in Nima, Accra, Ghana, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

At the home of artist Mactar Fall and his family, the table is set to break the fast with coffee, tea, baobab juice, bread and chocolate spreads Monday, March 17, 2025 in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Muslims gather to break their fast with fruits and juice during the holy month of Ramadan in Nima, Accra, Ghana, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Volunteers in the popular Medina neighbourhood serve free coffee to break the Ramadan fast Monday, March 17, 2025 in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

People grab dates as they break their fast Monday, March 17, 2025 in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Volunteers in the popular Medina neighbourhoods serve free sardinella paté sandwiches to passers-by to break the Ramadan fast, Monday, March 17, 2025 in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Naheemah Ishola, founder of Meebelle Kitchen, left, distributes jollof rice and Chicken to the less privileged women in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

A woman carries distributed food during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

A woman prepares food to be distributed to the less privileged people during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

A woman prepares food to be distributed to the less privileged people during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Muslim women prepare Iftar, fast breaking meal, for charity during the holy month of Ramadan in Nima, Accra, Ghana, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

A Muslim man cuts watermelon for Iftar, fast breaking meal, during the holy month of Ramadan in Nima, Accra, Ghana, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Volunteers in the popular Medina neighbourhoods serve free sardinella paté sandwiches to passers-by to break the Ramadan fast, Monday, March 17, 2025 in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Volunteers in the popular Medina neighbourhoods serve free sardinella paté sandwiches to passers-by to break their fast, Monday, March 17, 2025 in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Muslims gather to break their fast with fruits and juice during the holy month of Ramadan in Nima, Accra, Ghana, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin voters decided Tuesday to enshrine the state's voter ID law in the state constitution.

The state was also electing its top education official, who will guide policies affecting K-12 schools during President Donald Trump’s second term, will be elected Tuesday in a race between the teachers union-backed incumbent and a Republican-supported critic.

Both contests had sharp partisan divisions, though they have drawn far less spending and national attention than the race for control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Polls closed at 8 p.m. CDT.

Here’s a look at the two contests:

Wisconsin’s photo ID requirement for voting will be elevated from state law to constitutional amendment under a proposal approved by voters.

The Republican-controlled Legislature placed the measure on the ballot and pitched it as a way to bolster election security and protect the law from being overturned in court.

President Donald Trump trumpeted the measure's approval on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling it “maybe the biggest win of the night.”

“It should allow us to win Wisconsin, like I just did in the presidential election, for many years to come!" he said.

Trump narrowly lost Wisconsin to Joe Biden in 2020 but defeated Kamala Harris last November election to claim its 10 electoral votes.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is leading Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government, also noted the outcome on his social media platform, X, saying: “Yeah!”

Democratic opponents argued that photo ID requirements are often enforced unfairly, making voting more difficult for people of color, disabled people and poor people.

All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan voting rights organization, warned that placing the photo ID mandate in the constitution will make it harder to vote.

“We should not be purposefully leaving eligible voters behind by setting up additional barriers to the ballot, but unfortunately, those in the Badger State have one more step to take before voting,” Sam Liebert, the organization's state director, said in a statement.

Wisconsin voters won't notice any changes when they go to the polls. They will still have to present a valid photo ID just as they have under the state law, which was passed in 2011 and went into effect permanently in 2016 after a series of unsuccessful lawsuits.

Placing the photo ID requirement in the constitution makes it more difficult for a future Legislature controlled by Democrats to change the law. Any constitutional amendment must be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions and by a statewide popular vote.

Wisconsin is one of nine states where people must present photo ID to vote, and its requirement is the nation’s strictest, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirty-six states have laws requiring or requesting that voters show some sort of identification, according to the NCSL.

The race to lead the state Department of Public Instruction pits incumbent Jill Underly, who is backed by Democrats and the teachers union, against consultant Brittany Kinser, a supporter of the private school voucher program who is endorsed by Republicans but calls herself a moderate.

Wisconsin is the only state where voters elect the top education official but there is no state board of education. That gives the superintendent broad authority to oversee education policy, from dispersing school funding to managing teacher licensing.

The winner will take office at a time when test scores are still recovering from the pandemic, the achievement gap between white and Black students remains the worst in the country and more schools are asking voters to raise property taxes to pay for operations.

Underly’s education career began in 1999 as a high school social studies teacher in Indiana. She moved to Wisconsin in 2005 and worked for five years at the state education department. She also was principal of Pecatonica Elementary School for a year before becoming district administrator.

Underly, 47, was elected state superintendent in 2021 and was endorsed by the union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, as well as the Wisconsin Democratic Party and numerous Democratic officeholders.

Kinser, whose backers include the Wisconsin Republican Party and former Republican Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker, is vying to become the first GOP-affiliated person to hold the superintendent position in more than 30 years.

She worked for almost 10 years as a special education teacher and instructional coach in Chicago Public Schools. After that she spent 15 years at public charter schools in Chicago, California and Milwaukee.

In the Milwaukee area, Kinser worked for Rocketship schools, part of a national network of public charter institutions, and became its executive director for the region.

In 2022 she left Rocketship for City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee nonprofit that advocates for charter and voucher schools. She also founded a consulting firm where she currently works.

Kinser, 47, tried to brand Underly as being a poor manager of the Department of Public Instruction and keyed in on her overhaul of state achievement standards last year.

Underly said that was done to better reflect what students are learning now, but the change was met with bipartisan opposition including from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who was previously state superintendent himself. Evers has not made an endorsement in the race.

Kinser said the new standards lowered the bar for students and made it more difficult to evaluate how schools and districts are performing over time.

Underly portrayed Kinser as nothing more than a lobbyist who doesn’t care about public education. Kinser supports the state’s private school voucher and charter school program, which Democrats and Underly oppose on the grounds that such programs siphon needed money away from public schools.

Maximillian Marquez, left, walks to a voting booth at the Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language to cast a ballot in the state's Supreme Court election, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

A voter casts a ballot during early voting in Waukesha, Wis., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)