| − | Blacks tended to support the [[Republican Party]] from the 1860s to the 1960s, but few who lived in the South voted--some states even stopped people of African ancestry voting by the use of literacy tests, poll taxes and other measures. The [[New Deal]] provided large-scale relief for blacks during the [[Great Depression]]. Some black Republican organizations, as in Chicago, switched overnight to the [[Democrat]]s. This sudden change is often attributed to the leftist sentiments that were growing in the late twentieth century. The [[15th Amendment]] allowed blacks to vote, but despite vigorous enforcement in the South prior to the [[Voting Rights Act]], minority voter registration was still much lower than white voter registration.<ref>Issacharoff, Samuel; Karlan, Pamela S.; Pildes, Richard H. (2012). ''The Law of Democracy: Legal Structure of the Political Process'' (4th ed.). New York, NY: Foundation Press. ISBN 1-59941-935-1, p. 514</ref> After the Voting Rights Act, black turnout increased substantially. Since 1964, blacks have voted 85% to 95% for Democrat presidential candidates, with an occasional black Republican elected to state office. | + | Blacks tended to support the [[Republican Party]] from the 1860s to the 1960s, but few who lived in the South voted--some states even stopped people of African ancestry voting by the use of literacy tests, poll taxes and other measures. The [[New Deal]] provided large-scale relief for blacks during the [[Great Depression]]. Some black Republican organizations, as in Chicago, switched overnight to the [[Democrat]]s. This sudden change is often attributed to the leftist sentiments that were growing in the late twentieth century. The [[15th Amendment]] allowed blacks to vote, but despite vigorous enforcement in the South prior to the [[Voting Rights Act]], minority voter registration was still much lower than white voter registration.<ref>Issacharoff, Samuel; Karlan, Pamela S.; Pildes, Richard H. (2012). ''The Law of Democracy: Legal Structure of the Political Process'' (4th ed.). New York, NY: Foundation Press. ISBN 1-59941-935-1, p. 514</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20040806055436/http://www.justice.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro_a.htm</ref> After the Voting Rights Act, black turnout increased substantially. Since 1964, blacks have voted 85% to 95% for Democrat presidential candidates, with an occasional black Republican elected to state office. |