By John Tummino
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Obstacles: states can prevent minority group
members from voting, the two-tier court
system (state courts hostile, regional bias), state
control over voter registration and elections,
and state control over legislation (Jim Crow)
Opportunities: appeal to the federal
government (judicial review), civil liberties
(incorporation doctrine), geographic
concentration allows for greater influence
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Obstacles: taking minority votes for granted,
closed membership (white primaries), less
opportunities for minority viewpoints to be
represented, lack of candidates on the ballot, third
party bias (anti-third-party), and lack of party
discipline in enforcing adherence to minorityfavoring policies
Opportunities: become a major part of a party's
makeup, proportional representation of delegates
to the Democratic Party convention (divides the
delegates between two candidates who are close to
one another in the voting), recruitment of
minorities as party workers, ideological slant of
primary voters, open membership
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Obstacles: winner-take-all, at-large (the whole)
vs. single-member (predetermined
constituency; two party politics) districts, racial
gerrymandering, runoff elections (like
brackets)
Opportunities: voting blocs (margin of
difference), greater number of seats, voting
system