In 1920, Cora Cottman joined scores of other American women applying to vote for the very first time following the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Like so many others, she sent her registration paperwork to the registrar for her district, the Harrison precinct of Charles City County, in the hopes that her registration would be completed in time for the upcoming November election. But Cora also had to complete an additional step that many of her fellow applicants did not have to face. Cora Cottman was a Black woman, and that meant she had to pass a literacy test.
“Literacy test” may be a little misleading. Originally, the term was used to describe exactly what you might expect—a test that required applicants to prove that they were able to read before they were able to register to vote. Common in the wake of the Civil War, such tests were largely meant to discriminate against formerly enslaved men, who were frequently illiterate. That said, poor white men were also often blocked by such measures. Work-arounds like grandfather clauses and more flexible knowledge requirements were created to compensate. As a result, “literacy test” broadened into a catch-all name for any of the discriminatory, knowledge-based tests that were used to prevent Black voting in the Jim Crow-era South. These literacy tests were often left up to the discretion of the individual tester, both in terms of what were considered “passing” answers and who was required to take the tests to begin with.1
In Virginia, this shift was codified by the Virginia Constitution of 1902. The primary purpose of this constitution was to disenfranchise the large number of Black Virginian men who had become eligible to vote following the passage of the 15th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.2 Among a long list of extremely restrictive voter regulations was the requirement that an applicant “answer on oath any and all questions affecting his qualifications as an elector, submitted, to him by the officers of registration, which questions, and his answers thereto, shall be reduced to writing, certified by the said officers, and preserved as a part of their official records.”3
What knowledge did the registrar for the Harrison precinct of Charles City County decide was the most important for determining the qualifications of the Black women and men applying to vote in his district in 1920? Names. Just names.
He would ask Black applicants for the names of five random government officials for the county, state, and/or the country. As seen in the records for Cora Cottman, the questions could range from fairly common knowledge (“Who is the governor of your state?”) to the much more obscure (“Who is the commissioner of revenue for your county?”). The exact questions would vary from person to person, likely to prevent applicants from collaborating. Their answers were saved as part of their official election records and were recently uncovered during the processing of Charles City County’s List of Colored Voters, 1902-1923 circa, for the Harrison Precinct; Harrison Magisterial District. Notably, similar questions were not found in records from the List of White Voters for the same time period and district.
It’s been over a century and more than twenty-five presidential election cycles since Cora Cottman and her fellow Black voter applicants found themselves facing down the Charles City County registrar’s version of a literacy test. As the most recent election cycle approaches this November, we’ve put together a compilation of those 1920 questions, along with the 2024 answers. Without searching the internet or phoning a friend, try your hand at the questions below and see how you might have fared facing up against some of the same barriers. Click on each question to see the answer.
1. Who is the governor of your state?
For Virginia residents, the governor is Glenn Youngkin.
2. Who is the commissioner of revenue for your county?
For Charles City County, the commissioner of revenue is Candice Jones. You can find the answer for your own county or city by visiting your local government’s website.
3. Who is the registrar for your district?
For Charles City County, the director of elections/registrar is DeNay Harris. Search for your county or city on the Virginia Department of Elections website to find the registrar for your locality.
4. Who is the president of the United States?
Joseph R. Biden
5. Who is the secretary of state for the United States?
Antony Blinken
6. Who is the commonwealth's attorney for your county?
For Charles City County, the commonwealth’s attorney is Tyler Klink. You can find the answer for your own county or city by visiting your local government’s website.
7. Who is the vice-president of the United States?
Kamala Harris
8. Who is the secretary of the Navy for the United States?
Carlos Del Toro
9. Who is the treasurer of your county?
For Charles City County, the treasurer is Kourtney Brown. You can find the answer for your own county or city by visiting your local government’s website.
10. Who is the Republican nominee for president?
Donald J. Trump
11. Who is the secretary of your state?
The Virginia secretary of the commonwealth is Kelly Gee.
12. Who is the secretary of war for the United States?
A trick question in 2024! In 1947 this position was replaced with the secretary of the Army and the secretary of the Air Force. Today, the secretary of the Army is Christine E. Wormuth, and the secretary of the Air Force is Frank Kendall.
13. Who is the Democratic nominee for president?
Kamala Harris
14. Who is the lieutenant governor of your state?
In Virginia, the lieutenant governor is Winsome Earle-Sears.
15. Who is your representative in Congress?
For Virginia’s 4th congressional district, which includes Charles City County, the representative is Jennifer L. McClellan. Use your zip code to search the United States House of Representatives website to find your own representative.
16. Who is your representative in the state legislature?
A trick question in 2024 and 1920! Virginia’s state legislature, more commonly called the Virginia General Assembly, is divided into two houses—the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia. That means Virginians past and present have two state legislative representatives. Lashrecse D. Aird is the state senator for Virginia district 13 and Delores L. McQuinn is the delegate for Virginia’s 81st district, both of which include all of Charles City County. Use the “Who’s My Legislator?” tool on the Virginia General Assembly website to find both representatives for your address.
If you were able to answer all of the above questions on your own, give yourself a well-deserved round of applause! But if there were any questions that you may have struggled with, here are a few bonus questions for you to consider: How do you think you would have found the answers in a time before online resources and easily searchable government databases? What does knowing the names of those officials have to do with your qualifications as a voter, anyway? How would you have felt if those questions had stopped you from exercising what is supposed to be your Constitutional right as a U.S. citizen?
Literacy tests and other forms of racially focused voter disenfranchisement remained common in Virginia and the rest of the South until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which guaranteed that no person would be denied the right to vote based on their race. The clause that allowed the Charles City County registrar and other election officials to ask such discriminatory questions would remain part of Virginia’s state constitution until it was replaced by the current state constitution in 1971.4
As for Cora Cottman? We can’t say for sure what other voting discrimination she might have faced after this test, or what her election experiences might have been like in the years that followed. But we do know the results of her voter application in 1920. Cora was successfully able to answer all five of the questions posed to her by the registrar. On October 2, 1920, she took a registration oath created specifically for newly enfranchised women, and her name was entered into Charles City County’s List of Colored Voters, 1902-1923 circa, for the Harrison Precinct; Harrison Magisterial District.
Editor’s Note: The Charles City County Voter Registration Records, 1908-1936 are currently undergoing conversation and will be made available to the public once work has been completed.
Footnotes
[1] Brent Tarter, “Disfranchisement.” Encyclopedia Virginia, last updated December 7, 2020, https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/disfranchisement/.
[2] Susan Breitzer, “Constitutional Convention, Virginia (1901-1902),” last updated December 7, 2020, https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/constitutional-convention-virginia-1901-1902/.
[3] Virginia Constitutional Convention (1901-1902), Constitution, 1902, Accession 40664, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219. https://rosetta.virginiamemory.com/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE2924540&_ga=2.224727455.425683752.1725468197-493945134.1725468197.
[4] Brent Tarter, “The Virginia Constitution of 1971,” Encyclopedia Virginia, last updated June 29, 2023, https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/the-virginia-constitution-of-1971/.
Header Image Citation
Photograph of Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute faculty members who registered to vote in 1920. Virginia State University Special Collections and Archives.