Grovey v. Townsend

Background

A Black man who said he was a U.S. and Texas citizen and a member of the Democratic party asked his county clerk for an absentee ballot for the party’s primary. The clerk refused, citing a May 24, 1932 state Democratic convention resolution limiting party membership to white citizens. The man sued, claiming racial discrimination in violation of the federal Constitution. A Texas trial court sustained a demurrer and denied a new trial; the case reached this Court because it raised an important federal question about voting and race.

Reasoning

The central question was whether the convention’s white-only resolution and the clerk’s refusal were acts of the State or instead internal acts of a private party. The Court distinguished earlier cases that struck down explicit state laws or state delegations that barred Black voters. Here the Court emphasized that Texas law regulates primaries in detail but also recognizes the party as a voluntary association that organizes, pays for, and runs its own primaries. Citing Texas decisions, the Court concluded the party convention’s action was not state action and that primary managers were not state officers for this purpose. Because the exclusion was treated as party action, the Court found no federal constitutional violation in the clerk’s refusal and affirmed the judgment.

Real world impact

The decision lets a state party’s internal membership rule control who may take part in that party’s primary in Texas, meaning Black voters could be excluded from primary ballots when the party bars them. The Court kept intact the line that direct state discrimination in general elections remains prohibited.