Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections
| Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections | |
|---|---|
| Argued May 18 – May 19, 1959 Decided June 8, 1959 | |
| Full case name | Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections |
| Citations | 360 U.S. 45 (more) 79 S. Ct. 985; 3 L. Ed. 2d 1072 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Appeal from the Supreme Court of North Carolina |
| Subsequent | Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited use of literacy tests |
| Holding | |
| A State may use a literacy test as a qualification for voters provided it is applied equally to all and is not intended to discriminate; it is part of its broad powers to determine the conditions under which the right of suffrage may be exercised. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Douglas, joined by unanimous |
Superseded by | |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | |
Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections, 360 U.S. 45 (1959), was a case challenging the constitutionality of the rule of Northampton County, North Carolina requiring potential voters to pass a literacy test to vote, appealed from the Supreme Court of that state.