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Opinion of Stevens, J.
Party.36 Moreover, unlike cases such as Jackson and Flagg Bros., this is a case in which Congress has exercised the enforcement power expressly conferred to it by § 2 of the Fifteenth Amendment. That power unquestionably embraces the authority to prohibit a reincarnation of the white primaries, whether they limit the field of viable candidates to just one as in Terry, or to just two as would be permissible under Justice Thomas' construction of the Act.
To the extent the argument addresses the coverage of the Act, it is equally unconvincing. As we have already explained, the legislative history of the Act makes it perfectly clear that Congress did not intend to limit the application of § 5 to nominating procedures that "foreordained" the results of the general election. After the statute was enacted, the majority opinions in Jackson and Flagg Bros. included language that may limit the reach of the constitutional holdings in the White Primary Cases. Those later opinions, however, shed no light on the intent of the Congress that had already enacted the Voting Rights Act and unambiguously expressed a purpose to have it apply to the candidate selection process. While Justice Thomas would narrowly confine the coverage
36 While Justice Thomas relies heavily on Justice O'Connor's dissenting opinion in Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., 500 U. S. 614 (1991), he overlooks the fact that the Court's holding in that case makes it clear that state delegation of selection powers to two adversaries instead of just one state actor does not preclude a finding of state action. The Edmonson dissent argued that since peremptory strikes are available to both opposing sides in a lawsuit, the State cannot simultaneously advance each party's use. The dissent reasoned, therefore, that the State is "neutral" as to their use and not " 'responsible' " for it. Id., at 643. Virginia, on the other hand, grants automatic ballot access to only two entities, and requires everyone else to comply with more onerous requirements. As we have shown, Virginia gives a host of special privileges to the major parties, including automatic access, preferential placement, choice of nominating method, and the power to replace disqualified candidates. See supra, at 195-197, and nn. 10-13. It is perfectly natural, therefore, to hold that Virginia seeks to advance the ends of both the major parties.
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