POLS 1101 Chapter 9 Essay - the Voting Rights Act in 1965 paved the way for blacks to register and vote in Georgia and the rest of the South Black voter

Krishal Patel POLS 1101 Jamison Dague Journalism 516 Chapter 9: Voting Rights in Georgia Preceding the Civil War, Georgia initiated a poll tax, which meant individuals had to pay the back taxes to vote. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Georgia inherited the literacy test, which required voters to demonstrate their ability to read and write. Georgia also adopted a property-owning requirement, an understanding clause, and a grandfather clause. The white primary was initiated prior to the mid-1960s. Georgia politics was completely dominated by the Democratic Party and all electoral decisions were made in the Democratic primary election. Blacks were not allowed to vote in these Democratic primary elections which effectively stopped them from having any influence on election outcomes. Various court actions and the passage of

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Unformatted text preview: the Voting Rights Act in 1965 paved the way for blacks to register and vote in Georgia and the rest of the South. Black voter registration rates are now similar to those for whites. African Americans now hold more state legislative, congressional, and statewide constitutional offices than do white Democrats, but both black and white Democratic candidates fail to win elections of all levels. Georgia became the first southern state to elect an African American to Congress in the twentieth century when Andrew Young won the 44% black Fifth Congressional District. 1.) Should Georgia still be covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act? 2.) Why is Georgia one of the few states that still keep track of voter participation data by race?...
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