Oregon v. Mitchell

Oregon v. Mitchell
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 20, 1970 Decided December 21, 1970
Full case name	Oregon v. Mitchell, Attorney General
Citations	400 U.S. 112 (more) 91 S. Ct. 260; 27 L. Ed. 2d 272; 1970 U.S. LEXIS 1
Holding
1. Lowering the voting age to 18 years in federal elections under Section 302 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) Amendments of 1970 is constitutional under Section 5 of the 14th Amendment to enforce the Equal Protection Clause; 2. Lowering the voting age to 18 years under Section 302 of the 1970 VRA Amendments in state and local elections is unconstitutional under the 10th Amendment; 3. Section 201 of the 1970 VRA Amendments banning the use of literacy tests as a voter qualification in federal, state, and local elections is constitutional under Section 2 of the 15th Amendment; 4. Section 202 of the 1970 VRA Amendments creating a minimum residency duration requirement for voter registration and a uniform rule for absentee voting in presidential elections is constitutional under Section 5 of the 14th Amendment to enforce the Privileges or Immunities Clause.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr. Potter Stewart · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
Case opinions
Plurality	Part 1: Brennan, White, and Marshall; Part 2: Stewart, Burger, and Blackmun; Part 3: Brennan, White, and Marshall; Stewart, Burger, and Blackmun; Part 4: Brennan, White, and Marshall
Concurrence	Part 1: Douglas; Black (in judgment); Part 2: Black; Harlan; Part 3: Harlan; Douglas (in judgment); Black (in judgment); Part 4: Douglas; Stewart, Burger, and Blackmun (in judgment); Black (in judgment)
Dissent	Part 1: Stewart, Burger, and Blackmun; Harlan; Part 2: Brennan, White, and Marshall; Douglas; Part 4: Harlan
Laws applied
10th Amendment, Enforcement Clauses of the 14th and 15th Amendments
Superseded by
26th Amendment (Parts 1 and 2)

Oregon v. Mitchell, 400 U.S. 112 (1970), was a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the states of Oregon, Texas, Arizona, and Idaho challenged the constitutionality of Sections 201, 202, and 302 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) Amendments of 1970 passed by the 91st United States Congress, and where John Mitchell was the respondent in his role as United States Attorney General.^[1] The Supreme Court ruled that the literacy test ban under Section 201, the minimum residency duration requirement for voter registration and the uniform rule for absentee voting in presidential elections under Section 202, and that Congress lowering the voting age in federal elections from 21 to 18 under Section 302 were all constitutional, but that Congress lowering the voting age in state and local elections from 21 to 18 under Section 302 was unconstitutional.^[1]