The Intractable County Unit System

The Intractable County Unit System

Yet, despite the glaring inequalities of the county unit system, the vast majority of Georgians accepted the need for a balance of power between rural and urban areas. The county unit system thus enjoyed the support of an overwhelming majority of Georgians in the 1940s. Even progressives who were disadvantaged by the system, like gubernatorial James V. Carmichael, openly supported the system.  Since their careers often depended on the county unit system, politicians were unwilling to publicly criticize the system. Indeed, the two main factions in Democratic party only diverged on the question of the county unit on the degree to which they supported it.

The Talmadge wing actually sought to expand the reach of the county unit system. During his tenure as governor from 1948 to 1954, Herman Talmadge twice introduced an amendment that would extend the county unit system to the general election. He argued that his amendment was the best way to maintain segregation and to ensure Atlanta voters does not reduce the other counties to “mere vassalage.” A majority of Georgians voted against the amendment in both 1950 and 1952.

The anti-Talmadge wing opposed the extension of the county unit system to the general election. However, they continued to support it for the Democratic primaries. The 1954 gubernatorial candidate M.E. Thompson is a good representative of this view: