I registered in Southampton county in 1956, just released from the Marine
Corps, and had no knowledge of the procedure. The registrar gave me a sheet
of paper which asked for the names of the governor, the two senators and
the district Representative. There was one or two general questions which I
don't recall specifically, but basic, e.g., the author of the Declaration
of Independence. I thought then and continue to believe that some knowledge
is required to cast a ballot.
Richard E. Dixon
Clifton, VA 20124-2115
> [Original Message]
> From: John Hopewell <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 4/8/2003 2:09:27 PM
> Subject: Re: (voting registration)
>
> It wasn't just the late 1950s, but some years afterward. When I registered
> to vote in my hometown (Gloucester, VA) in the summer of 1960, I was faced
> with a blank sheet of paper. However, the local chapter of the NAACP had
> circulated numerous copies of the information required, and so ironically
> this white, brand-new college graduate relied on that cheat-sheet to
> register. Legally the registrar was not supposed to assist anyone, but he
> was a neighbor who lived up the street, and he produced a copy for me so
> that I could register to vote. I don't know whether the VA General
Assembly
> ever repealed that law, or whether the federal Voting Rights Act trumped
it.
> I suspect it was the latter.
>
> John Hopewell
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Hershman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2003 2:46 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: (voting registration)
>
> Probably a publication of Luther Porter Jackson who was engaged in
> registration efforts in the late 1940s. It really got tough for a short
> period in the late 1950s when the General Assembly passed the "blank
> sheet" registration law. Not only did the person registering have to
> know the answer--they had to know the questions!
>
> Jim Hershman
>
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