Sallie M. Hadnott v. Mabel S. Amos, Etc.

1968-12-16

Headline: Ruling keeps most candidates from a newly formed Alabama Democratic party on November ballots pending review, continuing temporary relief and affecting which names appear in the upcoming election.

Holding: The Court continued its October 14 order restoring temporary relief that put the new party’s candidates back on Alabama ballots and denied the request to speed a full hearing, keeping temporary ballot placement pending review.

Real World Impact:

Keeps most of the new party’s candidates temporarily on Alabama ballots.
May split votes for the same national ticket because separate elector slates are not combined.
Creates last-minute burdens for election officials and uneven ballot preparation.

Topics: ballot access, voting rights, election administration, voter confusion, political parties

Summary

Background

Members of the National Democratic Party of Alabama, a newly organized political group, asked courts to require Alabama to put their candidates on the ballot. The State had left all but two of the party’s candidates off ballots. A three-judge federal court first ordered the names included, then dissolved that order on the merits. The party asked this Court to restore the temporary relief and speed a full hearing.

Reasoning

The Court continued the October 14 order that restored temporary relief and denied the request to accelerate a full merits hearing. The Court kept the party’s candidates on ballots for now to prevent an immediate and possibly irretrievable loss of federal rights while the matter is reviewed. The Justices also heard argument about practical difficulties and uncertainty in preparing ballots across counties.

Real world impact

For now, most of the new party’s candidates remain on Alabama ballots, but this is not a final decision on the legal claims. Election officials and printers face last-minute changes and uneven compliance across counties. The situation could split votes in the Presidential contest because two different elector slates pledged to the same national ticket may appear separately and cannot be combined under state law.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Harlan would have limited the temporary relief by removing the party’s Presidential Electors from the ballot to avoid voter confusion; Justices Stewart and White dissented from continuing the restored relief, and Justice Black did not participate.