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.

A flyer encouraging people to vote in specific counties in southern states.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping containing multiple articles. Of interest are two articles, "100 Voters Registered in Drive Last Week" and "48 Voters Added in Registration Drive" which both detail voter registration initiatives. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Flyer depicting the struggle in Selma, Alabama, and urging young voters to exercise their right to vote so as to not revisit this horrible event. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
VEP press release on how eleven southern states now have a Black population of 27% or higher, which could lead to better representation in government positions. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article discussing the Southern Regional Council's launching of a major voter registration campaign aimed at the two million unregistered African Americans in 11 Southern states. The SRC's program was to be carried out in cooperation with the NAACP, SCLC, SNCC, CORE, and the National Urban League. The goal of the campaign was to register more African Americans to vote and to help them participate in the political process. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping referencing Vernon Jordan and Ben Brown's possible run for Congress. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping describing the number of Black candidates seeking political office in the South. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Program for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the VEP including a schedule of events.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article discussing the candidacy qualification of 50 Atlanta residents to run for office in the 1981 city elections. The race for mayor was viewed as particularly competitive, with Former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young and state Rep. Sidney Marcus considered the front-runners. 1 page.
A study conducted by the Voter Education Project revealed that 95 percent of Black registered voters in the South who turned out for the November 4th election voted for Jimmy Carter, with percentages ranging from 92 percent to 97 percent, while President-elect Reagan was estimated to have won only 2 to 6 percent of the total Black votes cast. 1 page.
A Beginners Notebook on Political Participation, by VEP and the Interdenominational Theological Center Rural Black Church and Community Leadership Training Program, Illustrated by Avery Miller. 23 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Jet article on a possibility of Atlanta electing its first Black mayor, with State Sen. Leroy R. Johnson and other Black politicians considering running for office, but winning the election would require significant white voter support and a successful voter-registration campaign. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
This article discusses the potential candidates for the upcoming mayoral election in Atlanta, highlighting the lack of coalescence behind one or two candidates, and examining the strengths and weaknesses of the various potential candidates, including Rodney Cook, Sam Massell, Milton Farris, Everett Millican, Leroy Johnson, and Charles Weltner. Additionally, the article suggests the possibility of a push for a Negro vice mayor, with potential candidates including Vernon Jordan and Maynard Jackson. 1 page
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Booklet from the Alabama Board of Registrars reminding citizens that they must be registered to vote and have paid their poll tax in order to vote in the election. The Board offered special registration sessions in January and February, and citizens could also check their local Board of Registrars for additional dates. The Board also reminded citizens that persons over 45 years of age and veterans of wartime service may not have to pay the poll tax. Citizens with questions about the poll tax were directed to contact their judge of probate. 4 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Two newspaper clippings describing a report and criticisms surrounding the consolidation of the Atlanta and Fulton County governments. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping discussing possible Black candidates for Mayor of Atlanta. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A magazine article discussing the challenges faced by liberalism amid social change movements. 3 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping describing the need to elect Black leaders to local public offices. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A short history and activities conducted by the VEP. 9 pages.
"A Workshop for Louisiana Negro Elected Officials" program detailing the schedule, outline of events, discussion leaders, and committee and conference coordinators.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article discussing a Virginia election in which the Democratic organization narrowly beat out the liberal opposition to retain party control in the state. The Democratic Party of Virginia held its state convention in Salem, which was marked by a tense showdown between the Democratic Organization and liberal forces. The Organization retained its hold on the state party chairmanship, with Watkins M. Abbitt being re-elected to a second four-year term. The unit rule, which would have required Virginia's entire 54 votes to be cast in a bloc as the majority decided, was defeated in the convention's Resolutions Committee. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A flyer from the NAACP and VEP promoting time and place for voting registration. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping regarding a Democratic primary election in Mobile, Alabama. 1 page.
A copy of a speech given by Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach at the Emancipation Day Ceremonies discussing civil rights, discrimination, and civic participation. 8 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
List of administrative and legal barriers to minority political participation, which was included in the VEP's "Election Notebook." In the past, minorities in the Southern states faced a number of barriers to registering to vote and voting, including purges and reregistration, discriminatory location of polling places, intimidation and exclusion of minority poll workers, and legal barriers such as at-large voting requirements and malapportioned election districts. These barriers made it difficult for minorities to participate in the political process and undermined their right to vote. 1 page.
A newspaper clipping describing a meeting of the Afro-Exonian Society to "exchange notes and viewpoints about certain topics, primarily the racial situation." 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Street view of AFSCME headquarters.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping describing barriers to voter registration in Wilcox County, Alabama. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Agenda Strategic Conference on "Removing Administrative Obstacles to Voting" which includes location, schedule, and description of events. 2 pages.
A newspaper clipping referencing two articles, outlined in red. The first article (center) describes a meeting of the Alabama Democratic Conference in which they condemn Governor George Wallace's racism. The other article, entitled "State Political Leaders Meet," references the annual meeting of the Alabama State Coordinating Association for Registration and Voting and a presentation by the Voter Education Project. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Articles and photos from "Speakin' Out News" on the Alabama Democratic Conference. 2 pages.
A newspaper clipping quoting U.S. Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall and discussing the enactment of civil rights legislation. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Report written by Marvin Wall detailing voter turnout in Alabama state elections.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Calendar of important election registration dates, organized by month, in Alabama. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping describing the rejection of an Alabama state constitutional amendment. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Written on verso: Alberta Horton.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Written on verso: Alice Gufford.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping describing the successes of the All Citizens Registration Committee. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping with an article describing a forum held by the Fulton County Democratic party regarding an all Black primary. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. has compiled a list of 12 qualities he believes his successor should have, including a commitment to eliminating racial discrimination, willingness to make difficult decisions, ability to cooperate with other governments, and determination to continue programs to rebuild deteriorating parts of the city, among other qualities. Vernon Jordan, head of the Southern Regional Council's Voter Education Project and a former advisor to President Bill Clinton, expressed his interest in the political scene in his hometown of Atlanta after his name was inadvertently left off a list of mayoral candidates being discussed. 1 page.
A newspaper clipping describing criticism of Atlanta Mayor, Ivan Allen Jr.. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Atlanta's outgoing Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. predicted that no major candidates, business-backed or Negro, will emerge to succeed him and named Vice Mayor Sam Massell, Alderman Rodney Cook, Alderman Everett Millican, Alderman Milton Farris, Alderman Cecil Turner, and former U.S. Rep. Charles L. Weltner as probable candidates, while stressing the need for Atlanta's White leadership to recognize it will have to deal with Black leaders in the future and that race will continue to dominate city government issues. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Written on verso: Althena Thomas.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A flyer promoting entertainment and information on voting. 1 page.
Report on the "Great Equalizer" campaign, conducted by the Voter Education Project, was a successful public service media effort aimed at encouraging voter registration and participation in the 1976 elections, with high acceptance and usage rates among broadcast stations, reaching millions of viewers and listeners, and potentially contributing to increased voter turnout in the South, as indicated by higher registration figures compared to previous years. 13 pages.
Report conducted by Jesse H. Turner, then-President of the Memphis Chapter of the NAACP, addressed to Robin Ulmer of the Southern Regional Council and Voter Education Project regarding the Black vote's influence over two Memphis run-off elections in 1967. The study found that the effectiveness of the Black vote dropped sharply in all contests after the top race. Qualified Black candidates could expect little white support in races, except in those token races where the bloc-voting whites felt they should allow Negroes. Neither Blacks nor whites were prepared to accept a Black as head of the city government. The NAACP needed to redouble its efforts to see that Blacks recognize issues in future campaigns and demand their share of the whole loaf. 5 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Article on how the Voter Education Project plans to file a lawsuit against Pulaski County seeking to abolish the one-member county commission in 24 Georgia counties, arguing that they are unconstitutional and discriminate against minorities. 2 pages.
Written on verso: Anna Maxwell.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Written on verso: Anna McLean, 457 West 143 Street New York, New York.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Benjamin Lawson Hooks is appointed as the Executive Director of the NAACP, bringing unique qualifications and experience to restore the organization to a sound financial footing and attract a younger generation, while also signaling that Black institutions deserve the best Black talents available. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records