Cite as: 517 U. S. 186 (1996)
Opinion of Stevens, J.
would make little sense. On appellees' theory, one political party could not exclude blacks from the selection of its nominee, however it chose that individual, but two parties each independently could.
In any event, the controlling factor for our construction of § 5 is Congress' intent. It is apparent from the legislative history that Congress did not mean to limit § 5 to political parties whose nominating procedures "foreordained" the results of the general election, see post, at 269 (Thomas, J., dissenting). The impetus behind the addition of the term "party office" to § 14 was the exclusion of blacks from the Mississippi delegation to the National Democratic Convention in 1964. See supra, at 208-209. The activities of those delegates did not settle the result of the Presidential race; Republican candidates won the general election in 1952 and 1956, and from 1968 until 1992, excluding 1976. Nevertheless, Congress insisted that the selection of those delegates must be open to all voters, black and white.
The imposition by an established political party—that is to say, a party authorized by state law to determine the method of selecting its candidates for elective office and also authorized to have those candidates' names automatically appear atop the general election ballot—of a new prerequisite to voting for the party's nominees is subject to § 5's preclearance requirement.
was an " 'integral part of the election process,' " even though a nominating petition obviously is not a primary, and that procedure plainly was not "merged by law," post, at 270, n. 12, into the State's election apparatus. See 394 U. S., at 818 (citing Classic and Smith); MacDougall v. Green, 335 U. S. 281, 288 (1948) (Douglas, J., dissenting). See also Hearings on H. R. 6400 before Subcommittee No. 5 of the House Committee on the Judiciary, 89th Cong., 1st Sess., 457 (1965) (statement of Rep. Bingham) ("It is clear that political party meetings, councils, conventions, and referendums which lead to endorsement or selection of candidates who will run in primary or general elections are, in most instances, a vital part of the election process") (citing Smith and Terry).
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