Oregon v. Mitchell

Oregon v. Mitchell
Name	Oregon v. Mitchell
Court	Supreme Court of the United States
Date	December 21, 1970
Citation	400 U.S. 112
Prior	On appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon

Contents

Oregon v. Mitchell was a landmark Supreme Court of the United States case that dealt with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, as well as the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified in response to the Vietnam War and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's efforts to lower the Voting age in the United States. The case involved Attorney General of the United States John Mitchell, Governor of Oregon Tom McCall, and Secretary of State of Oregon Clay Myers. It also implicated the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Background

The background of the case involved the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson and enforced by the United States Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach. The act was designed to prevent Racial segregation in the United States and protect the rights of African Americans to vote, as guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, the act did not address the issue of Voting age in the United States, which was still set at 21 in most states, including Oregon, Texas, and California. This led to efforts by Youth International Party leader Abbie Hoffman, Students for a Democratic Society leader Tom Hayden, and Congressman Jerrold Nadler to lower the voting age, which ultimately resulted in the passage of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The case began when Attorney General of the United States John Mitchell and President Richard Nixon's administration attempted to enforce the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, which lowered the voting age to 18 in all federal, state, and local elections, as advocated by Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Don Edwards. However, Governor of Oregon Tom McCall and Secretary of State of Oregon Clay Myers refused to comply, arguing that the law was unconstitutional and infringed on the rights of State governments of the United States, as protected by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The case was heard by the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, which ruled in favor of the state, and was then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, where it was argued by Solicitor General of the United States Erwin Griswold and Attorney General of Oregon Lee Johnson.

The Supreme Court of the United States issued a split decision, with a majority of justices ruling that the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970 were constitutional insofar as they applied to federal elections, but not state and local elections, as argued by Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.. The decision was written by Justice Hugo Black and joined by Justice William Douglas, Justice John Harlan, and Justice Potter Stewart. However, the decision was not unanimous, with Justice William Brennan Jr. and Justice Thurgood Marshall dissenting, and arguing that the law was constitutional in its entirety, as advocated by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The impact of the decision was significant, as it led to the ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18 in all elections, as advocated by Senator Birch Bayh and Congressman Jerrold Nadler. The amendment was ratified on July 1, 1971, and was certified by Archivist of the United States James B. Rhoads and President Richard Nixon. The decision also led to changes in the way that elections were conducted in the United States, with many states adopting new voting systems and registration procedures, as recommended by the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors.

The legacy of the case is still felt today, as it played a significant role in shaping the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, as well as the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush and enforced by the United States Election Assistance Commission. The case also highlighted the importance of Voting rights in the United States and the need for continued efforts to protect and expand these rights, as advocated by the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Additionally, the case has been cited in numerous other cases, including Bush v. Gore and Shelby County v. Holder, which were argued by Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder and decided by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia. Category:United States Supreme Court cases