Lorene Smith was in her twenties when she marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She witnessed first-hand all kinds of history-book images - the fire hoses, police dogs and flailing billy clubs. Now, at 65, she has graying hair and a bad back that prevents her from standing too long. She is taking no chances with a ballot she once believed could never be cast - a vote for an African-American presidential candidate. “We gonna have two little black girls in the White House running up and down the hallways to find their dog,” she said as she voted Tuesday. Americans are voting early in large numbers this year - and African-Americans in several states are turning out in disproportionate numbers. Some fear that polling places in predominantly black neighborhoods will be overwhelmed by a record turnout on Election Day. Others are voting early to be certain the chance to elect the first black U.S. president doesn't slip away. In Georgia, where early voting began on Sept. 22, African-Americans account for 29% of active voters but have so far made up nearly 36% of about 758,000 early voters. By comparison, African-Americans represented 25% of the overall turnout in 2004. In Florida, African-Americans accounted for 21% of ballots cast Monday even though they make up 13% of voters. In North Carolina, African-Americans accounted for 33% of ballots cast as of Monday even though they make up 21% of voters. There was a sense of history among early voters who stood in line Tuesday for as long as 90 minutes at the Fulton County Registration and Election headquarters in downtown Atlanta. Veleter Mazyck, who is black, had never before voted early in an election. She began to talk softly as she spoke about her dead father, who “would have been thunderstruck” by the thought of a black president. Like many other black voters on Tuesday, Ms. Mazyck, a lawyer, insisted she wasn't necessarily voting for Mr. Obama because he was black but rather because he was the better candidate. “The fact that the most qualified candidate happens to be African-American is just an incredible thing, a truly historic moment,” she said.
