
          Deep South Votes With Feet, Not With Hart
          By StaffStaff
          Vol. 6, No. 2, 1984, pp. 4-5
          
          According to a Southern_Regional_Council analysis of 106 targeted
voting precincts in Alabama and Georgia, black_voters in these two
states turned out in almost unprecedented numbers in the March 13
presidential primary while whites generally stayed away from the
polls.
          The SRC study, the first-detailed examination of actual voting
patterns of the March 13 election in the two states, showed that
almost half of all predominantly black precincts had more than fifty
percent of their registered voters turn out on election day. The
highest turnouts in black precincts were found in places such as
Wilcox County, Alabama; Thomas County, Georgia; and Albany,
Georgia.
          In contrast, almost three out of five of all predominantly white
precincts in the study showed turnout rates below thirty percent. The
turnout in predominantly white precincts was lowest in rural areas
such as Worth County, Georgia and Choctaw County, Alabama.
          "On election day some counties witnessed both the highest and
lowest rates of turnout seen in primary elections in and lowest rates
of turnout seen in primary elections in decades," says Steve Suitts,
SRC director and author of the study. In Greene County, Alabama, for
example, a predominantly white precinct turned out at a rate of only
fifteen percent while a nearby voting precinct with a majority of
black registered voters turned out at a rate of sixty-three
percent. In Albany, Georgia one precinct turned out at a rate of less
than ten percent while two predominantly black precincts voted at a
rate of more than eighty percent.
          While primary elections usually have smaller rates of voter
turnout, a few black precincts showed turnout rates higher in the
primary election than in the 1980 general election. While only
fifty-three percent of the voters in a predominantly black precinct in
Thomas County turned out in 1980 to vote for Jimmy Carter or Ronald
Reagan, sixty-nine percent came out in the March 13th primary.
          The SRC study also found that presidential candidate Gary Hart led
all other candidates on March 13th in attracting white voters. Hart
carried twenty of the fifty-two predominantly white precincts studied
in the report. (John Glenn carried nineteen precincts and Walter
Mondale won eleven precincts targeted for the study).
          Hart attracted support in a variety of white precincts. He carried
the urban, white, liberal precinct of Morningside in Atlanta, a
predominantly white, strongly conservative precinct in Choctaw County,
Alabama, and a white, strongly democratic precinct in Rome,
Georgia. Yet, Hart was also strong in the targeted white precincts in
Georgia which Ronald Reagan carried in 1980.
          "The strength of Gary Hart in white voting districts has Lo be
balanced by the failure of a large percentage of whites to vote in the
primary election," Suitts says. "Most whites--unlike blacks--voted
with their feet by staying home. Apparently, their candidate was not
on the ballot in the Democratic primary."
          The large turnout of black_voters evidently was motivated by Jesse
Jackson's candidacy which received the lion's share of the votes in
black precincts. In the SRC study, 

Jackson carried more than four out
of five of all majority black precincts. "And usually by margins of
more than twenty percentage points." While Jackson's largest margins
of victory were in rural precincts, he also did well in urban
areas. In precincts such as Morehouse College in Atlanta where a
larger number of black_students vote, Jackson received eighty-nine
percent of the precinct vote.
          Jesse Jackson also carried some predominantly white precincts. In
the SRC study, two of the fifty-two precincts with a majority of white
registered voters were won by Jackson. In a fifty-five percent white
precinct in Camilla, Georgia, Jackson received thirty-five percent of
the vote--more than any of his competitors--and in Waynesboro, Georgia
the precinct where almost two out of three voters are white, Jackson
received the largest vote with thirty-four percent of the total.
          "Given trends elsewhere," Suitts observes, "Jackson's victory in
these white precincts is probably the result of a high black turnout
and a low white turnout within the precinct itself. The result was a
plurality victory in white precincts for Jackson."
          Walter Mondale carried the other remaining black precincts although
only in a few places in Alabama did he receive more than fifty percent
of the vote of the precinct. His strongest showings in black precincts
were in Birmingham where Mayor Richard Arrington, the city's first
black mayor, had endorsed Mondale and in other places such as
Montgomery and Choctaw County, where the Alabama Democratic
Conference--the state's largest black political group--has a strong
presence. "Mondale was able to reverse the tidal wave of Jackson
support in black precincts only when-there were exceptionally
well-organized black groups working for Mondale," Suitts says.
          Gary Hart and John Glenn carried no predominantly black precinct
included in the study.
          While Walter Mondale carried both Georgia and Alabama, the precinct
study shows his support was seldom strong in any one
precinct. Usually, Mondale carried a precinct with less than forty
percent of the vote. At the same time, Mondale was able to receive
some important support in all precincts. In all 106 surveyed
precincts, Mondale always received at least eleven percent of the
vote. "Mondale's strength which gave him enough votes to win the two
states was in its breadth and not its depth of support." Suitts
says.
          For more information on the study, contact the SRC office.
        
