The Voter Education Project (VEP) began in 1962 as part of the Southern Regional Council. Initially VEP granted funds to civil rights organizations to support voter education, voter registration drives, and voting-related research. In 1964, Vernon Jordan, the second executive director of the VEP, expanded the programs goals to include citizenship training, voter education, and leadership training in the southern United States, while continuing to provide funds to independent voter and civil rights groups, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the League of Women Voters. The VEP’s work with the League of Women Voters is highlighted in the materials below. In 1971, VEP under the leadership of John Lewis, became an independent organization and functioned as a research center and became known as an authoritative source for statistics on southern elections and voter registration in general. Lewis also forged the VEP into an activist organization, launching Voter Mobilization Tours with Georgia state legislator and civil rights advocate Julian Bond. At the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library we are always striving to improve our digital collections. We welcome additional information about people, places, or events depicted in any of the works in this collection. To submit information, please contact us at DSD@auctr.edu.
Sep 4, 2020

Voter Education Project Organizational Records

The Voter Education Project (VEP) began in 1962 as part of the Southern Regional Council. Initially VEP granted funds to civil rights organizations to support voter education, voter registration drives, and voting-related research. In 1964, Vernon Jordan, the second executive director of the VEP, expanded the programs goals to include citizenship training, voter education, and leadership training in the southern United States, while continuing to provide funds to independent voter and civil rights groups, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the League of Women Voters. The VEP’s work with the League of Women Voters is highlighted in the materials below. In 1971, VEP under the leadership of John Lewis, became an independent organization and functioned as a research center and became known as an authoritative source for statistics on southern elections and voter registration in general. Lewis also forged the VEP into an activist organization, launching Voter Mobilization Tours with Georgia state legislator and civil rights advocate Julian Bond.

At the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library we are always striving to improve our digital collections. We welcome additional information about people, places, or events depicted in any of the works in this collection. To submit information, please contact us at DSD@auctr.edu.
9 Objects displayed
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  1. Browse Repository
  2. Archival Collections
  3. Voter Education Project Organizational Records
For:
  • Subjects = Political campaigns
  • Geographic Location = Washington (D.C.)
Article on the Black community grappling with the potential benefits and risks of Jesse L. Jackson's candidacy for President of the United States. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Black Leaders Agonize as Jesse Jackson Ponders Bid", September 11, 1983
Date Created
1983-09-11
Description
Article on the Black community grappling with the potential benefits and risks of Jesse L. Jackson's candidacy for President of the United States. 2 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Politics and government, Political campaigns, Political participation
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article regarding Jimmy Carter's criticism of President Ford for being "timid, fearful and afraid to lead". He accused Ford of neglecting to mention his leadership record as President and of failing to address important issues such as trust, embarrassment, and shame. Carter also criticized the government's handling of the Medicaid program, which he said lost $4 billion a year through fraud, deficient patient care, maladministration, and the issuance of benefits to ineligible persons. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Carter Attacks Ford's Ability to Lead", August 31, 1976
Date Created
1976-08-31
Description
Newspaper article regarding Jimmy Carter's criticism of President Ford for being "timid, fearful and afraid to lead". He accused Ford of neglecting to mention his leadership record as President and of failing to address important issues such as trust, embarrassment, and shame. Carter also criticized the government's handling of the Medicaid program, which he said lost $4 billion a year through fraud, deficient patient care, maladministration, and the issuance of benefits to ineligible persons. 1 page.
Subject
Political participation, Voter registration, Political campaigns, Presidents
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article regarding the public mood in the bicentennial presidential election year as desiring the federal government to be run in a more humane fashion, and that voters preferred someone who had not been in the bureaucracy to be in charge. The article discusses three outsider candidates who stirred more interest than the candidates from Congress: Ronald Reagan, George Wallace, and Jimmy Carter. The article argues that Carter was the most appealing of these three candidates because he was not anti-government like Reagan and Wallace, and he was not just another warmed-over New Dealer like the liberal Democrats. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Jimmy Carter: Fitting the Mood of the Voters", January 4, 1976
Date Created
1976-01-04
Description
Newspaper article regarding the public mood in the bicentennial presidential election year as desiring the federal government to be run in a more humane fashion, and that voters preferred someone who had not been in the bureaucracy to be in charge. The article discusses three outsider candidates who stirred more interest than the candidates from Congress: Ronald Reagan, George Wallace, and Jimmy Carter. The article argues that Carter was the most appealing of these three candidates because he was not anti-government like Reagan and Wallace, and he was not just another warmed-over New Dealer like the liberal Democrats. 1 page.
Subject
Political participation, Voter registration, Political campaigns, Presidents
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Shirley Chisholm to Challenge White Males in Four Primaries" article published in the Washington Post detailing Re. Shirley Chisholm's candidacy for United States President. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Shirley Chisholm to Challenge White Males in Four Primaries" Article, October 7, 1971
Date Created
1971-10-07
Description
"Shirley Chisholm to Challenge White Males in Four Primaries" article published in the Washington Post detailing Re. Shirley Chisholm's candidacy for United States President. 1 page.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American women's suffrage, Women's rights, African Americans--Politics and government, African American women, Political campaigns
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Shirley Serious About the White House" article on The Washington Daily News detailing Ms. Chisholm's bid for the White House. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Shirley Serious About the White House" Article, September 14, 1971
Date Created
1971-09-14
Description
"Shirley Serious About the White House" article on The Washington Daily News detailing Ms. Chisholm's bid for the White House. 1 page.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American women's suffrage, Women's rights, African Americans--Politics and government, African American women, Political campaigns
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article the ways in which the Virginia Democratic gubernatorial runoff produced a political metamorphosis with potentially far-reaching implications. The old Byrd Organization declined, and new forces came to the fore. Henry E. Howell and William C. Battle represented a new thrust in state politics and a gradual closing of the gap between the Virginia Democratic Party and the National Democratic Party. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Battle-Howell Duel Changes State Politics", August 14, 1969
Date Created
1969-08-14
Description
Newspaper article the ways in which the Virginia Democratic gubernatorial runoff produced a political metamorphosis with potentially far-reaching implications. The old Byrd Organization declined, and new forces came to the fore. Henry E. Howell and William C. Battle represented a new thrust in state politics and a gradual closing of the gap between the Virginia Democratic Party and the National Democratic Party. 1 page.
Subject
Political participation, Political campaigns, Voter registration
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article discussing the potential political campaigns of two Black candidates in Atlanta and Detroit after the final term of respected mayor Ivan Allen Jr. Due to Atlanta's large Black population, there was a growing movement for Black political representation. The article suggests that if a Black candidate were to run for mayor, they would have a good chance of winning. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Negroes Eye Two Major Mayoralities", January 2, 1969
Date Created
1969-01-02
Description
Newspaper article discussing the potential political campaigns of two Black candidates in Atlanta and Detroit after the final term of respected mayor Ivan Allen Jr. Due to Atlanta's large Black population, there was a growing movement for Black political representation. The article suggests that if a Black candidate were to run for mayor, they would have a good chance of winning. 2 pages.
Subject
Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government, Political campaigns
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Pamphlet from the Democratic National Committee emphasizing The Democratic Party's long history of supporting civil rights and economic advancement for African Americans, centering around the work completed in Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential administration. The party enacted legislation and programs that helped to open up opportunities for African Americans in all areas of life, from education and employment to housing and healthcare. The Democratic Party remained committed to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their race or ethnicity. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"This President...Is Doing More" Pamphlet, September 14, 1967
Date Created
1967-09-14
Description
Pamphlet from the Democratic National Committee emphasizing The Democratic Party's long history of supporting civil rights and economic advancement for African Americans, centering around the work completed in Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential administration. The party enacted legislation and programs that helped to open up opportunities for African Americans in all areas of life, from education and employment to housing and healthcare. The Democratic Party remained committed to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their race or ethnicity. 2 pages.
Subject
Political campaigns, Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Press release from the Democratic National Committee regarding the radical right's retaliation against President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society programs in 1967. They worked to cut off funds and cripple Great Society programs, discredit and write off the Johnson record, and divide and confuse supporters of the Johnson administration. Despite this, the Democratic Party leadership remained confident that these destructive and divisive forces could be turned back. They pointed to the fact that the Republican House victories in 1966 were narrow victories and that the percentage of loss for the Democrats was less than that suffered by President Eisenhower in 1958 and President Truman in 1946. 3 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Radical Right Maps 1967 Battle Against Great Society Programs", December 20, 1966
Date Created
1966-12-20
Description
Press release from the Democratic National Committee regarding the radical right's retaliation against President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society programs in 1967. They worked to cut off funds and cripple Great Society programs, discredit and write off the Johnson record, and divide and confuse supporters of the Johnson administration. Despite this, the Democratic Party leadership remained confident that these destructive and divisive forces could be turned back. They pointed to the fact that the Republican House victories in 1966 were narrow victories and that the percentage of loss for the Democrats was less than that suffered by President Eisenhower in 1958 and President Truman in 1946. 3 pages.
Subject
Political science, Political campaigns, Voter registration
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records