Seeking Votes and Clout

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black and white turnout fell to a historic low of 7%, and in nine states, including Illinois, blacks were reported voting in a greater proportion than whites. And the number of black state legislators increased by 35, to 355, the largest jump ever. Nevertheless, the total of 5,160 black officials nationwide represents only about 1% of all elective offices.

The most concerted voter-registration efforts this year have taken place in the South. Radio stations will soon be blaring a new rock beat, prepared by the Atlanta-based Voter Education Project (V.E.P.): "You're not fully a citizen/ In this great country/ If you don't register/ To vote!" Lowery was on the road last week accompanied by local black leaders cajoling the unregistered to sign up. Each weekend in Miami there is a "voter jamboree" with registration tables set up in local shopping centers; blacks hope to win two seats on the city commission there this fall. In Atlanta, the Majik Market chain of convenience stores has agreed to use its outlets as voter-registration sites. The overall goal of the V.E.P. is to register 350,000 new voters in eleven Southern states by the end of the year, says Executive Director Geraldine Thompson.

Although most of the nitty-gritty work is being done by the S.C.L.C., the V.E.P. and the N.A.A.C.P., the point man, catalyst and Pied Piper of the registration crusade has been Jesse Jackson. No matter that other black officials are often grudging in their praise and that they resent the publicity he attracts with his flashy appearances. "Groups do work when Jesse's not around, when the reporters and cameras aren't there," says veteran Activist and Atlanta City Councilman John Lewis. Yet most admit that the flamboyant and magnetic Jackson and the "Southern Crusade" run by his Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) have helped spark excitement among rural blacks. "After he came, enthusiasm really revived, especially among the 18-to-24-year-olds," says Thompson.

Jackson conducts his crusade with the fervor of an old-style revivalist, sometimes appearing at as many as 40 rallies a week. "All those who are not registered stand up!" he yells. Dozens of young blacks sheepishly rise. "I want you to walk right down here and get registered now!" he says, indicating the registration tables. "Isn't that wonderful! Give them a big hand!"

In Mississippi, which held state and local primaries this month, the voter-registration effort has been the largest and most successful since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. An estimated 40,000 new voters were registered since May, increasing black registration by about 11%. Aiding the effort were Georgia State Senator Julian Bond, Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and Martin Luther King III, son of the slain civil rights leader. And, of course, Jesse Jackson, who staged a three-day barnstorming car caravan through the Delta country to spark a record black turnout in the primaries.

Jackson also persuaded William Bradford Reynolds, the patrician chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, to come to Mississippi to see for himself the need for more vigorous enforcement of federal voting-rights laws. Reynolds, who heard tale after tale of the difficulties of trying to register and vote, ended his trip by entwining arms