Suit Filed to Require Enforcement of Negro Voting Rights through Reapportionment

    PRESS RELEASE @ @ 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND 
TO COLUMBUS CIRCLE «+ NEW YORK19,N.Y. © JUdson6-8397 

DR. ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS JACK GREENBERG CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY 
President Director-Counsel ; Associate Counsel 

SUIT FILED TO REQUIRE ENFORCEMENT oa 
OF NEGRO VOTING RIGHTS THROUGH REAPPORTIONMENT 

May 28,1963 

NEW YORK -- NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys sued two government 

officials today on behalf of Negro and white plaintiffs to require the 

government to enforce Section II of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges and Director of the Bureau of 

the Census Richard M, Scammon are named as defendants. The suit was 

filed in the federal district court for the District of Columbia this 

morning. 

The suit seeks to protect voting rights of Negro citizens in 

southern states. Under Section II of the Fourteenth Amendment, any 

state which denies the right to vote to a portion of its eligible 

citizens loses representation in Congress in proportion to the percent- 

age of voters denied. The Section has never been enforced. 

Today's suit is the first legal attempt to have this provision 

of the Fourteenth Amendment enforced. 

Jack Greenberg, Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund said: 

"Until recently the issue presented in this case may have been viewed 

as a political question, but this objection has, we believe, been 

overcome by Baker v. Carr, the reapportionment case." Mr. Greenberg 

added that he hoped the courts would view the Fund suit in the same 

way as Baker v. Carr. 

The suit asks that the Secretary of Commerce and Director of the 

Bureau of the Census: 

(1) “take all necessary and proper steps to prepare to compile 

figures as to the denial and abridgment of the right to vote at the 

next decennial census," and 

(2) "transmit an apportionment based on figures in accordance 

with Section II of the Fourteenth Amendment." 

On February 28, 1963 one of the plaintiffs, Mrs. Daisy E. Lampkin 

of Pittsburgh, wrote Secretary of Commerce Hodges complaining of 

the failure of the Department to take action to carry out Section II 

in the face of wide-spread denial of the right to vote in many southern 

states. The complaint states she received a reply from Mr. Scammon 

on March 8th which said though the Constitution provides for certain 



functions, this does aot necessarily insure their being carried 

out unless Congress gives special legislative authoritys He added, 

"even then, unless necessary funds are appropriated by Congress 

for this special activity there is no way any government agency 

can proceed to carry out the necessary Job." No further action 

followed urs. Lampkin's letter. 

The twentyefive plaintiffs are both Negro and white. They 

are from six northern states: Peansylvania, Massachusetts, Missouri 

Illinois, Ohio and California; and three southern states: Virginia, 

Mississippi, and Louisiana. 

The complaint alleges that the southern states would be 

likely to lose at least one congressman each if Section II were 

enforced while the six northern states would each be likely to 

gain at least onc congressman. 

The suit cites as an abridgement of the right to vote the 

existence of a poll tax in Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, arkan= 

sas and Texas. Literacy and constitutional interpretation tests 

in Louisiana and Mississippi are also attacked as violations of 

the Fourteenth ameridment. 

The Civil Rights Commission and Department of Justice are 

said to have data which proves that "numerous non-whites are 

consistently denied and abridged the right to vote by these 

educational and other requirements." 

The complaint further alleges that in 1960, in Louisiana, 

465,556 Negroes over 21 were not registered to vote, 69% of the 

total non-registered eligibles. In contrast, only 396, 108 whites 

over 21 were not registered, or 27% of the total. 

The complaint also mentions 2 1959 report of the Civil Rights 

Commission citing 158 counties in 10 southern states with a 

majority of Negroes. In 51 of these only 3% of the Negroes are 

registered. In only 11 of these counties are 30% or more Negroes 

registered to vote. 

NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys representing the Negro 

plaintiffs are dilliam B. Bryant of Jasnington, D. C., Jack 

Greenberg, Constance Baker Motley, James M. Nabrit, III, and 

Michacl Meltsner of New York City. 

Paes