Sen. Hillary Clinton won a majority of Michigan Democratic primary votes Tuesday, but African-Americans and young voters favored the "uncommitted" choice on the ballot, which was backed by supporters of Sen. Barack Obama.

A CNN exit poll showed 68 percent of blacks chose "uncommitted," compared with 30 percent for Clinton.

Clinton won Michigan's Democratic primary in a race that left many Democrats frustrated because she was the only major candidate on the ballot.

None of the Democratic candidates except Dennis Kucinich campaigned in Michigan, and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards went so far as to pull their names from the ballot to avoid angering Iowa and New Hampshire, which didn't like other states crowding to the front of the election calendar.

Michigan has been stripped of its 156 national convention delegates for breaking party rules by moving up its primary, but party leaders expect the delegates will be seated at the convention.

Michigan's decision to move its primary to Jan. 15 angered national Democratic Party officials who were trying to slow the "front-loading" by states of the primary process.

Obama backers in Michigan had urged Democratic voters to choose "uncommitted" as an indirect show of support.

Some political observers said the pair dropped out to avoid a certain loss to Clinton, who has consistently led in polls. Edwards had hoped Democrats would hold caucuses, where he might have done better because of his support among union members who traditionally play a large role in such races.

According to The Detroit Free Press, "Clinton led Uncommitted 55 percent to 40 percent with 97 percent of the vote counted Tuesday night. About 600,000 people voted in the Democratic primary."

Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Wednesday that Republican voting in the Michigan primary dropped by 380,000 since 2000 -- or 31 percent.

"There is tremendous energy on our side and enthusiasm for change," LaVera said.

Meanwhile, "the votes for Uncommitted on Tuesday mean the state Democratic Party will choose some number of uncommitted delegates to the national convention in August -- if the national party relents and restores Michigan's delegates," the Free Press reported. "Although many Democrats scoffed at the Uncommitted choice, it was seen by some as a test of Clinton's strength."

Democratic Rep. John Conyers and his wife, Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, launched radio ads calling for "uncommitted" votes because there was no other way to register support for Obama, who they both support.

"When have you ever voted 'uncommitted' on a ballot and expected people to know who you mean to vote for?" Conyers told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer, however, said the large vote for "uncommitted" means a lot of delegates who support other Democratic candidates also will be in the Michigan delegation.

He said he has warned the candidates that the eventual nominee will need to campaign extensively in Michigan before the general election to make up for not campaigning before the primary.

"There's short-term disappointment about the way the primary worked out. But we're tremendously excited about winning in the fall," Brewer said. "There's tremendous energy out there."

On Tuesday, 48 percent of all voters ages 18-29 voted uncommitted, compared with 43 percent for Clinton, according to CNN. Clinton took more votes than uncommitted in all other age groups, including older voters.

"The racial disparity could be a bad sign for Clinton going into the South Carolina primary, where half of all Democratic voters are black," CNN reported.

"It's unfortunate that residents can't participate in such a historic primary that can very likely lead us into the nation's most historic general presidential election," Peter C. Groff, publisher of Blackpolicy.org and executive director of the Center for African American Policy at the University of Denver, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

"Voters end up losing, especially black voters who may be excited about the prospect of Obama winning the nomination," Groff said.

A new group, Detroiters for Uncommitted Voters, started a grassroots campaign to promote the "uncommitted" option.

"People are already frustrated here in Detroit because they can’t cast a ballot for Obama. Many on their absentee ballots many have tried to write in Obama, but they have spoiled the ballots," Sam Riddle, Monica Conyers’s chief of staff, told The Washington Post. "We know we’ve got to educate the voters in a hurry."

Former Gov. James Blanchard, a co-chairman of Clinton's Michigan campaign, called the results a strong showing for her, despite a concerted campaign against her by some Democrats.

"Anything over 50 percent, we're ecstatic," Blanchard said. "A win is a win is a win, given what happened in Iowa and New Hampshire."

Other disagreed.

"The bottom line is the Clinton people have managed to circumvent the process," former Michigan Sen. Don Riegle, an Obama supporter, told The Detroit News.

"Democrats should show there is a large number of people who don't like the railroad job they're trying to do for Hillary Clinton," he said.

Meanwhile, a last-minute federal court battle over Nevada caucus rules demonstrates just how important a tight three-way Democratic presidential contest in the state has become in the battle for momentum headed into Super Tuesday's votes.

At issue in a federal court hearing Thursday is whether Democratic caucuses will be held in nine casinos along the Las Vegas Strip. The special locations were designed to make it easier for housekeepers, waitresses and bellhops in the state's biggest industry to caucus at midday near their jobs rather than returning home to neighborhood precincts.

The rules were unanimously approved by the state Democratic party last March and ratified by the Democratic National Committee in August.

But last Friday, six Democrats and a teachers union, which has ties to the Clinton campaign, sued to shut the sites on grounds they allocate too many delegates to one group. Of roughly 10,000 delegates to Nevada's presidential nominating convention, more than 700 could be selected at casino caucuses, depending upon turnout, which could make them more valuable than some sparsely populated Nevada counties, the lawsuit said.

Four plaintiffs are on the committee that approved the sites.

The Clinton campaign has denied any involvement in the lawsuit, but Obama noted it was filed two days after he was endorsed by the powerful Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which has organized many workers along the Strip. The union is the state's largest with 60,000 members, more than 40 percent Hispanic.

The Illinois senator drew cheers at a Culinary Union event Sunday when he said the rules were fine until the union decided, "I'm going to support the guy who's standing with the working people instead of the big shots."