Fortis Morse, Kenneth Curtis Bartholomew and Kimberly J. Enderson v. Republican Party of Virginia et al. (517 U.S. 186)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 27, 1996 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 517 U.S. 186 · 116 S. Ct. 1186
- Decided
- March 27, 1996
- Term
- October Term 1995
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justice Ginsburg joins. In 1994, all registered voters in Virginia who were willing to declare their intent to support the Republican Party’s nominees for public office at the next election could participate in the nomination of the Party’s candidate for the office of United States Senator if they paid either a $35 or $45 registration fee. Appellants contend that the imposition of that fee as a condition precedent to participation in the candidate selection process was a poll tax prohibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The questions we must decide are whether § 5 of the Act required preclearance of the Party’s decision to exact the fee and whether appellants were permitted to challenge it as a poll tax prohibited by § 10. HH On December 16, 1993, the Republican Party of Virginia (Party) issued a call for a state convention to be held on June 3, 1994, to nominate the Republican candidate for United States Senator. The call invited all registered voters in Virginia to participate in local mass meetings, canvasses, or conventions to be conducted by officials of the Party. Any voter could be certified as a delegate to the state convention by a local political committee upon payment of a registration fee of $35 or $45 depending on the date of certification. Over 14,000 voters paid the fee…
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