Morse v. Republican Party of Va., 517 U.S. 186, 43 (1996)

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228

MORSE v. REPUBLICAN PARTY OF VA.

Opinion of Stevens, J.

vocated construction would prove administratively unworkable. See Dougherty County Bd. of Ed. v. White, 439 U. S., at 54 (Powell, J., dissenting); United States v. Sheffield Bd. of Comm'rs, 435 U. S., at 147-148 (Stevens, J., dissenting). Those fears were not borne out, and we think it no more likely that these will either.

With respect to the second argument, we wholeheartedly agree with appellees that the right of association of members of a political party "is a basic constitutional freedom" and that "governmental action that may have the effect of curtailing freedom to associate is subject to the closest scrutiny." Brief for Appellees 25 (citing Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U. S. 1 (1976), and NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U. S. 449 (1958)). Such scrutiny, however, could not justify a major political party's decision to exclude eligible voters from the candidate selection process because of their race; the Fifteenth Amendment and our cases construing its application to political parties foreclose such a possibility. See Smith v. Allwright, 321 U. S., at 657 (rejecting argument that Democratic Party of Texas, as a private voluntary association, could exclude black voters from its primary); Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Comm., 489 U. S. 214, 232 (1989) ( justifying legislative "intervention" in internal party affairs where "necessary to prevent the derogation of the civil rights of party adherents") (citing Smith).

Moreover, appellees have not argued that the registration fee at issue in this case—which is challenged because it curtails the freedom of association of eligible voters arguably in conflict with the interests protected by the Twenty-fourth Amendment—is itself protected by the First Amendment. Rather, they have suggested that hypothetical cases unrelated to the facts of this case might implicate First Amendment concerns that would foreclose application of the pre-clearance requirement. It is sufficient for us now to respond

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