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Allen v. State Board of Elections

United States Supreme Court

393 U.S. 544 (1969)

Facts

Several laws dealing with election procedures came under scrutiny after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Mississippi passed three of these laws, and Virginia passed one of them. The first law replaced district-wide voting with at-large voting in a county-supervisor election. Another law replaced the election of a county officer with an appointment system. Yet another law prohibited primary voters from running as independent candidates. The last law modified write-in ballot casting procedure. The Court heard this case, determining whether § 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 applied to election procedures.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Warren, C.J.)

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A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

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Concurrence/Dissent (Harlan, J.)

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