Anderson v. Martin
Anderson v. Martin (1964) was a United States Supreme Court case that struck down a Louisiana ballot rule as unconstitutional. The case involved two African-American Democratic candidates for the East Baton Rouge Parish school board who opposed a state law that printed the voters’ race on the ballot.
In 1962, the candidates—Dupuy H. Anderson and Acie J. Belton—sued the Louisiana Secretary of State to stop enforcement of Act 538 from 1960 (now Title 18, § 1174.1). The law required the candidate’s race to be printed in parentheses next to the candidate’s name on the ballot. They argued this violated the 14th and 15th Amendments ( Equal Protection and voting rights).
The U.S. District Court denied their requests for a temporary restraining order and for injunctions. The plaintiffs later amended their complaint to say they had lost because of the race designation requirement.
The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision written by Justice Clark, held that requiring the race to be listed on ballots discriminates against the candidates and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:29 (CET).