Anderson v. Martin

Anderson v. Martin, 375 U.S. 399, was a 1964 United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held unconstitutional a Louisiana statute that required that the race of all candidates be listed on ballots.^[1][2]

Anderson v. Martin
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 20, 1963 Decided January 13, 1964
Full case name	Dupuy H. Anderson v. Wade O. Martin, Jr
Citations	375 U.S. 399 (more) 84 S.Ct. 454, 11 L.Ed.2d 430
Case history
Prior	Dupuy H. Anderson and Acie J. Belton, Complainants, v. Wade O. Martin, jr, E.D. La.
Holding
Compulsory designation by Louisiana of the race of the candidate on the ballot operates as a discrimination against appellants, and is violative of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Arthur Goldberg
Case opinion
Majority	Clark, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV

Background

In 1962, African-American Democratic candidates for the school board elections of East Baton Rouge Parish filed suit against the Louisiana Secretary of State to stop enforcement of Act 538 of the 1960 Louisiana Legislature, § 1174.1 of Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. This law requires the race of the candidate to be printed in parentheses next to the candidate's name, which they alleged violated the 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment. The United States District Court denied requests for a temporary restraining order and injunctions. Soon after, the plaintiffs amended their complaint on the basis that they lost on the election due to the law in question.^[1]

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 375