Even Out the Colors

You'll have to forgive me for taking Nancy Worley (D-Alabama) at her word. She said she wants our decision about re-electing her as Secretary of State to be based on her record in office. Does that include her political savvy?

I wonder what blacks in Alabama would say if they knew she was overestimating their presence on the state's voter registration roles?

Last week, Worley attended an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of passage of the Voting Rights Act. In covering her remarks, the Selma Times reported that

"[i]n 1965, Worley said, around 20 percent of blacks in Alabama were registered to vote, while around 70 percent of whites were registered.

"'Was this a fair and equitable Alabama? No. Was this an Alabama that represented its citizens? No,' Worley said. 'People were still denied the right to vote. You would have thought that all the barriers would have been broken down (after the passage of the 15th Amendment). After the Voting Rights Act, there are still barriers that need to be broken down.'"

"Worley said that today, 40 years after the Voting Rights Act, there is an even number of whites and blacks registered to vote."

Call me strange, but I would never have thought that blacks and whites are now in equal numbers on Alabama's voter lists. I don't doubt great strides have been made in registering blacks for voting in Alabama. And I believe that the Voting Rights Act has been a critical tool for making access to voter registration and voting a reality in Alabama.

However, the white population in Alabama is far greater than the black population here. It just doesn't seem likely to me that blacks would register at such a disproportionately high rate, or that whites would register at such a disproportionately low rate, that we would have an even number of whites and blacks registered as Worley apparently claimed.

So, I decided to check the numbers, straight from the horses mouth. And what did I find? According to the Secretary of State's own web site (i.e., the web site of the agency under Worley's management), Alabama had 2,492,253 active voters as of July 2005. Whites accounted for 1,847,651 of registered voters; black, 598,516.
Hm. Let's see. Does 1,847,651 equal 598,516?

Wait. I almost forgot. Worley taught English and Latin before she retired. Not math.