 On the day of the disfranchisement election in August, one prominent black leader, Abe Middleton, a former Republican county chairman of Duplin County, was symbolically "killed" when his wife found a "pasteboard coffin" in their garden.During a post-election hearing, Middleton testified that there was an increase in shooting near his home.Though the incidents did not faze Middleton, members of the black community saw this activity and refrained from voting.