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Emotional tide lifts potential for voter registration

June 9, 2008 — Last week was a gully-washer of political emotion, as Barack Obama became the first African-American to represent a major party as its presidential candidate, and Hillary Clinton bowed out after coming closer to the presidential prize than any woman ever has. As an indicator of what all this might mean in the fall, one comment in particular struck home.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House majority whip, didn’t endorse Obama until the last surge of superdelegates began last Tuesday. He’s a crafty politician who got where he is with patience and cool judgment. Here’s what he told an interview in a program broadcast over the weekend on South Carolina ETV:

“I was at an event where we were all watching the returns and when we got to the point that they said that Senator Obama will be making the speech in a few minutes, I went home and sat alone at home to watch it. Because what I was feeling was indescribable and I was afraid I would not be able to control my emotions,” Clyburn said.

If an African-American politician as Washington-wise as Clyburn describes his feelings in this way, then we shouldn’t assume that the sharply increased turnout in Democratic presidential primaries across the South this year fully represents Obama’s potential to turn out African-American voters in the fall.

To realize that potential, Obama has already staked considerable resources in building Vote for Change, the campaign’s voter registration and mobilization drive. Already, in Louisiana, there are reports of parish registrar offices swamped with some 70,000 new applications from a voter drive paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Paid Omama staff have been sighted on the ground in Georgia and Virginia, and virtually everywhere else we checked, the word in most of the state parties is that Obama troops specifically tasked with voter registration are on the way.

“I think they want to compete everywhere, and I think they can compete everywhere. They have the money,” said Joe Werner, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

Voter registration has been the subject of a long debate within the Democratic Party, with many who came after Jesse Jackson's 1988 candidacy arguing the party could grow much larger by emphasizing registration, and others who argued the effort would be largely wasted on undependable voters in states the party couldn't win anyway. Obama's candidacy, and the money it has generated, has changed the terms of that debate. Somewhere former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, a passionate advocate for registering black voters in Red States, must be smiling today.

Obama’s supporters quickly turn the conversation to their volunteer effort when asked how much actual staff they’re investing, and in many states like Georgia and Louisiana the drive will have to walk the legal line that says you can’t register voters selectively – that is, you can’t put up an Obama sign behind a table at the mall and register only people who intend to vote for him.

Still, in tandem with the emotional stirrings described by Clyburn and others, a well-funded voter registration effort could have a big impact across the South this year, not only in the presidential race but in close Senate and congressional contests across the region.

“It’s sort of a capital investment. There’s a long-term payoff, a cumulative payoff in a lifetime of civic involvement. I think it’s the start of something big,” said Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) one of 14 co-chairs of Vote for Change, drawn from the political, civil rights and entertainment world.

Jim Spearman, executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party, said an increase in African-American registration could help Democratic candidates like Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright in the 2^nd District, and Joshua Segall, a 29-year-old lawyer challenging incumbent Republican Mike Rogers in the 3^rd District.

A high-profile voter registration drive targeting African-American Democrats could also have a backlash. The North Carolina Republican Party quickly chided the state’s top Democratic candidates for not showing up when Obama came to the state Monday.

But as Spearman, the Alabama e.d., said, having Republicans attempt to hang the national ticket on local Democrats is “territory we’ve been familiar with for 32 years.” But new voters have a real potential to change the territory.