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.

For:
  • Subjects = Presidents
  • Subjects = African Americans--Georgia--Atlanta
Press release from the Voter Education Project describing the impact of the Black vote in the 1976 presidential election. The report found that the Black vote was decisive in several states, including South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In these states, the Black vote helped to elect Jimmy Carter as president and other Black candidates to local and state offices. The report also found that the Black turnout rate was higher than ever before, with an estimated 60-70% of registered Black voters casting ballots. This was due in part to the efforts of the VEP and other organizations that worked to register and mobilize Black voters. 4 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Correspondence from John R. Lewis, then-Director of the Voter Education Project, addressed to President-Elect Jimmy Carter congratulating Carter on his 1976 victory in the 1976 Presidential Election. 1 page.
Flyer for President Jimmy Carter's Presidential Election Celebration, held by the 1976 Democratic Presidential Campaign Committee, Inc at the World Congress Center on November 2, 1976. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Statistical analysis of the Fulton County Black vote for President, conducted by Clarence A. Bacote, including information regarding total registered voters, total votes for Carter, and total votes for Ford in the 1976 Presidential Election. 1 page.
Flyer for a "Get Out the Vote" Peanut Roast and Rally held before the 1976 Presidential Election, featuring guests like Congressman Andrew Young, Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller, and Mayor Maynard Jackson, held on November 1, 1976 in Central City Park. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondate campaign envelope addressed to John R. Lewis during the 1976 Presidential Campaign. 1 page.
Newspaper printed photo of John R. Lewis, Executive Director of the Voter Education Project, Gail Fisher, televison actress, Coretta Scott-King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jimmy Carter, former Georgia Governor and 1976 Democratic nominee for President, at the VEP's Third Annual Benefit Dinner. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article announcing former Governor Jimmy Carter as the keynote speaker for The Voter Education Project (VEP) Third Annual Benefit Dinner. Proceeds from the Dinner were used to support the VEP's efforts to register more than three and a half million people of voting age in the South who were not already registered. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Press release from the Voter Education Project announcing Senator Charles Mathias, Jr., Senator Edward Brooke, Senator Jacob Javits, George Meany, Coretta Scott King, Benjamin Mays, and Leonard Woodcock as chairpersons for the VEP's Third Annual Benefit Dinner, which was planned to benefit VEP's efforts to register and educate minority voters in the South. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article discussing plans for Governor Jimmy Carter to speak at the Voter Education Project's annual fundraising dinner. Proceeds from the event were to be used to support efforts to register more than three and a half million people of voting age in the South who were not yet registered. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article discussing plans for Governor Jimmy Carter to speak at the Voter Education Project's annual fundraising dinner. Coretta Scott King also agreed to sell tickets to the event in support of work increase voter registration and turnout among African Americans. VEP was credited with helping to register millions of black voters since its founding in 1962. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records