May 19, 1963 - Alabama Governor George C. Wallace plainly indicated at a news conference yesterday that he would seek to withhold Alabama’s 10 electoral votes from President Kennedy in 1964 by the device of “unpledged electors.” Governor Wallace rode in a helicopter with Mr. Kennedy yesterday and had a conversation on racial segregation and civil rights during which neither man made any headway in shifting the other’s views. The conversation, while reportedly civil, was marked by “emphatic” disagreements. Mr. Wallace said at the conference that he had been invited to ride in the President’s helicopter and had not sought the honor for himself. He insisted there was “nothing personal” involved. He said he had supported Mr. Kennedy for Vice President at the Democratic National Convention in 1956 and for President in 1960. As for whom he would support in 1964, he said: “Your guess might be as good as mine.” He denied that he would vote Republican or move into a third party. Governor Wallace pointedly explained that Alabama law permits the state to vote for a slate of unpledged electors — whose votes could be withdrawn from any candidate unacceptable to the electors or cast for someone not on the ballot. “The South is going to decide who the next President is,” Governor Wallace said.
