Smith v. Allwright
| Smith v. Allwright | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reargued January 12, 1944 Decided April 3, 1944 | |
| Full case name | Smith v. Allwright, Election Judge, et al. |
| Citations | 321 U.S. 649 (more) |
| Holding | |
| Primary elections must be open to voters of all races. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Reed, joined by Stone, Black, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson, Rutledge |
| Concurrence | Frankfurter (in the judgement of the court only) |
| Dissent | Roberts |
Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944), was an important decision of the United States Supreme Court with regard to voting rights and, by extension, racial desegregation.
Background
Lonnie E. Smith, a black voter in Harris County, Texas, sued for the right to vote in a primary election being conducted by the Democratic Party. The law he challenged allowed the party to enforce a rule requiring all voters in its primary to be white. Because the Democratic Party had controlled politics in the South since the late 19th century, most Southern elections were decided by the outcome of the Democratic primary. Representing the NAACP, Thurgood Marshall argued this case in favor of Lonnie E. Smith.
Issue
Texas claimed that the Democratic Party was a private organization, while Smith said that the law in question essentially disenfranchised him by denying him the ability to vote in what was the only meaningful election in his jurisdiction.
The Decision
The Court agreed that the restricted primary denied Smith his protection under the law and found in his favor.
The Aftermath
Some observers believed the Court's ruling in this case helped prepare for its later ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), in terms of looking at the effect of a practice or law.
Many Southern politicians of the era who were later regarded as progressive nonetheless were staunch supporters of the "white primary" at the time of the challenges. Notable were J. William Fulbright and Claude Pepper, who despite their support for the white primary, supported anti-segregation candidates such as Henry A. Wallace in national elections.
External links
Works related to Smith v. Allwright at Wikisource