STATE OF ALABAMA

ACTION OF THE BOARD

COUNTY

Before the Board of Registrars in session in and for said State and County personally appeared.

(Name of Applicant)

who executed the foregoing application in the manner and form therein stated. The Board having further examined said applicant under oath, tauching his qualifications under Section 181, Constitution of Alabama, 1901, as amended, and having fully considered the foregoing Application for Repa tration, Questionnaire, and Oath, and Supplemental Application for Registration, and Oath as executed, adjudges said applicant entitled to be reg

(Note: The act of actually determining an applicant entitled to be registered is judicial. A majority of the Board must concur. A majority must be present. The power cannot be delegated. Each member present must vote on each application. Not until this is done may a certificate be Lasued the applicant.)

STATE OF ALABAMA..

EXAMINATION OF SUPPORTING WITNESS
COUNTY

Before the County Board of Registrars in and for said State and County personally appeared

(Name of Witness)

who being first duly sworn as follows: "I solemnly swear

for registration

(or affirm) that in the matter of the application of.............

as an elector, I will speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God," testifies as follows:

months). I know of no reason why he is disqualified from. registering under the Constitution and laws of Alabama enacted in pursuance thereof.

Note: This application blank, when duly executed, on the final preparation of the "lists" of persons registered, must be delivered by the Board of Registrars to the Probate Judge or the County, whose duty it is to safely preserve it and all accompanying papers. See Title 41. Section 16. Code of Alabama, 1940.

EXHIBIT No. 23

REGISTRATION OF NEGRO VOTERS IN ALABAMA IN 1954

(By J. E. Pierce, Research Secretary, Alabama State Coordinating Association for Registration and Voting)

Foremost among the civil rights of citizens in a democracy is the right to participate in the Government through the free exercise of the franchise. The right to vote for those who are to hold office of trust has been a marked achievement in government and cherished by those who cling to the democratic concept. The question of who should exercise this privilege has baffled many in every democratic society. Especially has this been true in the development of modern democracies. Those who exercise the right of franchise may go a long way in determining the nature of the laws governing human rights and in the enjoyment of the benefits which are to be prorated among the citizens of the State. In the attempt to achieve the goals of a real democracy, the nonprivileged, many have been faced with almost unsurmountable obstacles in their effort to achieve the franchise. This most certainly has been the experience of the Negro in Alabama. The Negro in his attempt to gain the franchise in this State has met with every conceivable obstacle devised by man. In 1940 there were approximately 2,000 qualified Negro voters in this State. In 1946 this total had risen to approximately 6,000; and by 1952, there were around 25,000 Negro registered voters. Today this number exceeds 50,000. In a period of 12 years the voting strength of the Negro has increased something like 2,500 percent. Yet, this total is less than 10 percent of the Negro population of voting age and only 6.3 percent of the total qualified voters of the State.

Alabama, like other States of the union has attempted to set up some standards for determining the qualification of those who are to exercise the franchise. While it is admitted that some criteria should be used to determine the fitness of those who are to exercise the right of franchise, Alabama has endeavored to provide a means which would enfranchise the white and at the same time disenfranchise the Negro or restrict him to an ineffective number.

The Constitution and laws which set forth the qualification of an elector in Alabama are so worded as to give the board of registrar wide discretionary and arbitrary powers in determining the qualification of a voter. The Alabama laws also have been so drawn as to strike at the most vulnerable spot of the Negro. When the Negro developed to where he was able to overcome the weaknesses which would bar him, some other measures were devised. A brief statement on the qualification of a voter reveals little which one would find difficult to meet. These general requirements are age, residence and citizenship. But here the additional requirements become increasingly more difficult. Not that the Negro could not meet them, but the administration of these additional requirements leaves the board almost unlimited powers in determining the qualification of the voters. Among the provisions of the constitution and laws are the following: he must be of good character, and must embrace the duties and obligations of citizenship under the Constitution of the United States and under the constitution of Alabama. He is furthermore required to answer in writing a questionnaire furnished him by the board of registrars without assistance. This latter requirement will test his ability to read and write.

To aid the board in determining the ability of the person to read and write, the Supreme Court is required to prepare this questionnaire. However, it must be observed here that this is not the sole means of determining the applicant's qualification and the board may resort to other measures in determining the fitness of the elector. The result is that many boards are "Boswelling" the applicants when they appear before them. The reports have revealed in many counties that additional questions are being asked and other evidences demanded by the board to test the fitness of the applicant. In one of the blackbelt counties the applicant must get a signed affidavit from three local merchants who have known the prospective voter for 2 years. When this is done each member will inspect it. If the registrars know the persons vouching for the prospective voter he will get his certificate. Those who have attempted to register under these requirements report no race discrimination but whenever a Negro signs the affidavit the applicant is denied under the simple process of the members of the board claiming they do not know the signee.

The applicants have other difficulties which bar or limit the number of registered voters. The complaints registered against the board showing evidence of discrimination are

1. Additional burdens are required of Negroes: There must be present when a Negro is registering, an elector to sign the application of the Negro but this is not required of the whites.

2. The Negro must get white persons to sign his application: A Negro cannot do this in many counties as many whites will not sign applications of Negroes.

3. Resignation of the board: In some counties the members of the board of registrar will resign rather than register Negroes. This has been the case in Bullock and Macon Counties.

4. Processing the applications: Many who failed to receive their certifi cate have been told that the applications have not been processed. White applicants in most instances receive their certificate immediately upon registering.

5. Delay: Many boards discourage Negroes by pretending to be busy doing office work and fail to recognize the presence of the Negro. If the board member chooses to recognize him he will then ask the applicant to wait After a prolonged wait, the Negro is then informed that there is not a quorum of registrars present if the Negro applicant wants to register.

6. Inadequate accommodations: The space used by the Negro will accom modate only one person and when there is a long line only one can fill out the questionnaire at a time. The long wait discourages some, and others must go back to work.

7. Refusal: Some boards make no pretense but tell Negroes they are not registering Negroes; while others may be more considerate and pretend that there are no blanks. Still others are told to come back at some future date. 8. Hostile reception: Many times the boards will show by their obvious resentment that they do not want to be bothered. If the applicant should make a mistake he is told not to come back. If he has appeared before the board before, he is refused another chance. Some have extended the time to 2 years, other 6 months before a second chance is granted. Some of the counties do not resort to any of these delaying and evasive techniques, but there are, however, many counties which resort to one or more of these. Since 1952, there have been fewer complaints than formerly. This does not mean that the boards of registrars are void of discrimination. But it is encouraging to find that there is a widespread opinion among many of the citizens of the several counties that the attitude of the board of registrars has changed toward Negro voters. The white citizens of some communities are urging Negroes to register. The candidates for office are soliciting their votes and in many instances encouraging them not to vote for a certain candidate because of his racial stand. Information has been revealed in many counties of the State of the unfavorable attitude of certain candidates which has been very valuable to the voters.

The counties with a large number of Negroes offer more difficulty than others with small populations. To demonstrate this fact, 12 selected counties have been used to illustrate the difficulty of registering by Negroes in counties with large Negro populations.

Table I illustrates very vividly the Negro registration in 12 of the selected counties in the black belt.

TABLE I.-Negro registration in 12 selected counties in the black belt

1 These counties have more whites 21 years of age than Negroes, but there are more Negroes of all ages than whites.

The reported number from this county was excessive in 1952. A check of the list of qualified voters from the weekly issue of the Greenboro Watchman reveals only the number in the last column which is 126.

The Negro population in these 12 counties constitute 66 percent of the total population of these counties of voting age. However, only 2.12 percent of the Negroes of voting age are registered. In 1952 there were fewer Negro registered voters in all of these counties than white registered voters in Lowndes which had a population of only 2,057 of voting age, but had 1,420 registered white voters. Among these, 2 counties have no Negro voters, although there are 14,732 Negroes of voting age in the 2 counties. One county which failed to report in the 1952 study now claims 250. All counties with the exception of Hale and Bullock show an increase. Wilcox and Lowndes are still closed to Negro voters. Dallas County with the largest actual number of Negroes of voting age stands fifth in the number of voters. Some comparison might be made of Dallas and Macon Counties. There are 3,606 more Negroes of voting age in Dallas County than in Macon County, yet, Dallas County has only 20 percent as many voters. Macon county has a larger percent of Negro of voting age than Dallas. Dallas' population of voting age is 59 percent of all persons 21 years of age and over, while over 82 percent of the population of voting age in Macon County are Negroes. It is generally felt that the higher the percentage of Negroes in the population the more difficult it is to register. However, we cannot overlook the role of leadership; and there is a lack of militant leadership in Dallas County.

The educational opportunity at Tuskegee Institute in Macon County and Selma University in Dallas County and for a number of years Payne University, should have given the leadership needed in both places. While the evidence of effective leadership in Macon we cannot boast of this in Dallas. Macon County has instituted two suits against the board of registrars while Dallas has assumed a "do-nothing" attitude. One young man said of this observation when it was pointed out that trained personnel in Dallas included men whose training had been done in such institutions of higher learning as Brown University, Harvard, Columbia, and Colgate Universities: "Our parents have failed us. I have never," he said, "heard my family mention voting in all my life. There is no civic interest in my county." The leadership has, in small ways, paid off in Macon County. Macon County with approximately 16 percent of the population of the 12 counties 21 years and over, has over 38 percent of the voters in them.

Some observation may be made in regards to the two nonvoting counties by Negroes. Both counties have had the advantages of two very outstanding private schools for a number of years. Many outstanding leaders have come out of these counties. There men and women have and now hold leading positions in education and the church. There is a bishop from each of the counties. There is a college president. Some have doctor of philosophy degrees and are leaders in the field of medicine, dentistry, and business. However, no one has had the courage to face the board in these two counties and qualify for the ballot. One citizen amply put it when accosted about lack of Negro voters in his county, he replied, "bread before ballots." This may have summed up the fear of those who are reluctant to become the "the guinea pig" in the quest for first class

citizens in the two counties. When a top official was asked what is the chance for getting a few Negroes registered in one of these counties, he readily replied, "the time is not ripe." Do you really think so? "Yes, it would do more harm than good."

An analysis of the registration of Negroes by congressional districts will reveal further verification of the infiuence of the Negro population on registration. Table II which tabulates the voting of Negroes by congressional districts will show some marked increase.

TABLE II.-Voting age of Negroes registered in 1952 and 1954, by congressional

It will be noted from table II that the percentage of those voting tends to reflect the weakness of the potential Negro vote. The central and southern congressional districts invariably have a lower percentage of Negro voters than the northern district. The total number of Negroes of voting age is invariably higher in the southern half of the State, but the percentage of Negroes voting is invariably lower.

Of the four southern districts; namely, First, Second, Third, and Fourth, there are 260,976 Negroes of voting age, but only 22,053 are registered voters which is 8.4 percent of the number of Negroes of voting age. Contrasting this situation with the northern districts, we have 121,342 Negroes of voting age with 21,965 registered voters. The percentage of voters is more than double the southern areas. The percentage of those registered in the northern half is 18.1. In the tabulation of the comparison of the north and south Jefferson County, Birmingham is left out. It deserves special treatment as a separate entity.

There are other analysis which should be done in order to get a clearer picture on the registration of Negro voters. Within the districts there is revealed a differential among the counties making up the district. In every congressional district, one county stands out above the rest in number and percentage. These two measures do not correlate in any manner except in the Second or Third Districts. In District 1 (note table III) Mobile County has the largest number of voters but stands second in percentage. Marengo is second in number but is saved from the last place in percentage only by Wilcox which has no registered Negro voters. The second congressional picture is even worse than the first. Montgomery County has the largest number of registered Negro voters but is saved from last place in percentage by Lowndes which has none and Covington County which has a poor record for registering Negroes. Macon County is seeond in the number of registered voters with three counties less than it in percentage column. Henry County leads in percentage. This is an interesting county. It was not until 1951 that there were any voters in this county. The leadership there will be treated under another heading.

The Fourth Congressional District reveals a different situation from all others. Dallas County, with largest number of Negroes of voting age, has the smallest percentage of Negro voters. This verifies the contention of many persons that the more Negroes in a place the more difficult it is to register. This does not hold true for the percentage of Negroes in the population. There are counties with much higher percentage of Negroes than Dallas County and have more voters numerically registered.

The analysis of the Sixth District is unique in that Tuscaloosa County has 70 percent of the voters in this district. However, 4 counties have over 56 percent of the voting population and only 10 percent of the registered voters for the district.