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ever repealed that law, or whether the federal Voting Rights Act trumped it.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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