Grovey v. Townsend
1935 U.S. LEXIS 303, 295 U.S. 45, 55 S. Ct. 622 (1935)
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Rule of Law:
A political party is a private, voluntary association, and its determination of membership qualifications, including racial exclusions for participation in its primary elections, does not constitute state action and therefore does not violate the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments.
Facts:
- R.R. Grovey, a Black citizen of Harris County, Texas, was a member of and believer in the tenets of the Democratic Party.
- On May 24, 1932, the state Democratic convention of Texas adopted a resolution stating that 'all white citizens of the State of Texas' were eligible for membership in the Democratic party and entitled to participate in its deliberations.
- A Democratic primary election was scheduled for July 28, 1934, for which Texas law required the party to hold a primary.
- Grovey, anticipating he would be absent on election day, requested an absentee ballot for the primary from C.C. Townsend, the Harris County Clerk.
- Townsend, a state officer, refused to provide Grovey with a ballot, citing Grovey's race and the Democratic party's resolution restricting membership to white citizens.
Procedural Posture:
- R.R. Grovey filed a complaint against C.C. Townsend in the Justice Court of Harris County, Texas, seeking $10 in damages for the denial of a primary ballot.
- Townsend filed a demurrer, asserting that the complaint failed to state a valid cause of action.
- The Justice Court sustained the demurrer, dismissing Grovey's complaint.
- Grovey's motion for a new trial, which reasserted his federal constitutional claims, was overruled by the Justice Court.
- The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari, as the Justice Court was the highest state court in which a decision on this matter could be had.
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Issue:
Does the refusal by a county clerk to provide an absentee ballot for a party primary to a Black citizen, based on a resolution passed by the party's state convention limiting membership to white citizens, constitute state action that violates the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Roberts
No, the refusal to provide a ballot based on the party's resolution is not state action and does not violate the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments. A political party is a voluntary association with the power to determine its own membership qualifications. The resolution restricting membership was passed by the party's state convention, not by the state legislature or a state-empowered committee. Unlike in Nixon v. Condon, where a state executive committee was found to be a delegate of state power, a party convention is the organ of the party itself. Although Texas law regulates the mechanics of primary elections, the party, not the state, bears the expenses, furnishes the ballots, and counts the votes. Therefore, the party's action is private action, and the county clerk, in enforcing the party's rule, is not carrying out a state mandate that would trigger constitutional protection. The privilege of party membership is distinct from the right to vote in a general election, which is a state function and constitutionally protected from racial discrimination.
Analysis:
This decision solidified the 'private association' theory of political parties, effectively sanctioning the 'white primary' system in the American South. By classifying a party's discriminatory membership rules as private action, the Court created a significant loophole allowing the disenfranchisement of Black voters in primary elections, which were often the only determinative elections in one-party states. This ruling represented a major setback for civil rights and voting rights, distinguishing itself from prior cases that had struck down state-legislated white primaries. The precedent set by Grovey v. Townsend would stand for nine years until it was expressly overturned in Smith v. Allwright (1944), which finally declared white primaries unconstitutional.
