Smith v. Allwright

Smith v. Allwright
Supreme Court of the United States
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
Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone Associate Justices Owen J. Roberts · Hugo Black Stanley F. Reed · Felix Frankfurter William O. Douglas · Frank Murphy Robert H. Jackson · Wiley B. Rutledge
Case opinions
Majority	Reed, joined by Stone, Black, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson, Rutledge
Concurrence	Frankfurter (in the judgment of the court only)
Dissent	Roberts

Smith v. Allwright , 321 U.S. 649 (1944), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court with regard to voting rights and, by extension, racial desegregation. It overturned the Democratic Party's use of all-white primaries in Texas, and other states where the party used the rule.

Background

Lonnie E. Smith, a black voter in Harris County, Texas, sued county election official S. S. Allwright 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 (see Solid South), most Southern elections were decided by the outcome of the Democratic Party primary. Representing the NAACP, Thurgood Marshall had argued this case in favor of Lonnie E. Smith.

Issue

Texas claimed that the Democratic Party was a private organization that could set its own rules of membership. Smith argued that the law in question essentially disfranchised 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.

External links

Works related to Smith v. Allwright at Wikisource

• Text of Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944) is available from: Justia · Findlaw