Anderson v. Martin

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

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.