Morse v. Republican Party of Va.

116 S. Ct. 1186 (U.S. 1996) ; Clearinghouse Number: 51121

Description

Registration Fee Imposed by Virginia Republican Party on State Convention Delegates Is Subject to Preclearance Under Section 5 of Voting Rights Act

Abstract

Reversing, the Supreme Court has held that the Republican Party of Virginia's decision to exact a registration fee from individuals who wished to become delegates to a state convention is subject to section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. In 1994, all registered voters in Virginia who were willing to declare their intent to support the Republican Party's nominee for public office at the next election could participate in the nomination of the party's candidate for senator if they paid either a $35 or $45 registration fee. Appellants were qualified to become delegates but were rejected because they refused to pay the fee. They claimed that the fee was a poll tax prohibited by the Voting Rights Act. The district court concluded that the "general rule" that section 5 covers political parties to the extent that they are empowered to conduct primary elections was inapplicable to the selection of nominating convention delegates under a regulation promulgated by the U.S. Attorney General and the Court's summary decision in Williams v. Democratic Party of Georgia, 409 U.S. 809 (1972). The Supreme Court held that the district court erred in its application of the Attorney General's regulation, which unambiguously requires section 5 preclearance when a political party makes a change affecting voting if, inter alia, the party is acting under authority explicitly or implicitly granted by a covered jurisdiction. Because the conclusion that the party's activities fell within the regulation's scope was not contradicted but supported by the Court's narrow holding in Williams, the district court erroneously based its dismissal of appellants' complaint on that case. Noting that it has consistently construed the Voting Rights Act to require preclearance of any change bearing on the "effectiveness" of a vote cast in a primary, special, or general election, the Court held that, by limiting the opportunity for voters to participate in the convention, the party's filing fee undercut their influence on the field of candidates to appear on the ballot and thus weakened the votes they cast in the general election itself.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Docket Date
1996-03-27 00:00:00+00:00

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