Bullock et al. v. Carter et al.

Decided February 24, 1972. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 70-128 · 405 U.S. 134 (1972) · Cited 1,313 times

Holding

The Texas primary election filing-fee system contravenes the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections · 383 U.S. 663 (1966)
• Jenness v. Fortson · 403 U.S. 431 (1971)
• Williams v. Rhodes · 393 U.S. 23 (1968)
• Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15 · 395 U.S. 621 (1969)
• Smith v. Allwright · 321 U.S. 649 (1944)
• Turner v. Fouche · 396 U.S. 346 (1970)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Reynolds v. Sims · 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Snowden v. Hughes · 321 U.S. 1 (1944)
• Wesberry v. Sanders · 376 U.S. 1 (1964)
• McDonald v. Board of Election Comm'rs of Chicago · 394 U.S. 802 (1969)
• Gray v. Sanders · 372 U.S. 368 (1963)
• Carrington v. Rash · 380 U.S. 89 (1965)
• Cipriano v. City of Houma · 395 U.S. 701 (1969)
• Terry v. Adams · 345 U.S. 461 (1953)
• Morey v. Doud · 354 U.S. 457 (1957)
• Smith v. Cahoon · 283 U.S. 553 (1931)
• Nixon v. Herndon · 273 U.S. 536 (1927)
• Nixon v. Condon · 286 U.S. 73 (1932)
• Evans v. Cornman · 398 U.S. 419 (1970)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• New York State Bd. of Elections v. López Torres · 552 U.S. 196 (2008)
• Anderson v. Celebrezze · 460 U.S. 780 (1983)
• Clements v. Fashing · 457 U.S. 957 (1982)
• Lubin v. Panish · 415 U.S. 709 (1974)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• American Party of Texas v. White · 415 U.S. 767 (1974)
• Burdick v. Takushi · 504 U.S. 428 (1992)
• Storer v. Brown · 415 U.S. 724 (1974)
• Crawford v. Marion County Election Board · 553 U.S. 181 (2008)
• Rosario v. Rockefeller · 410 U.S. 752 (1973)
• McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)
• Brown v. Chote · 411 U.S. 452 (1973)
• Dougherty County Bd. of Ed. v. White · 439 U.S. 32 (1978)
• Illinois State Board of Elections v. Socialist Workers Party · 440 U.S. 173 (1979)
• Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee · 489 U.S. 214 (1989)
• Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party · 520 U.S. 351 (1997)
• Kadrmas v. Dickinson Public Schools · 487 U.S. 450 (1988)
• Clingman v. Beaver · 544 U.S. 581 (2005)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
• United States Civil Service Commission v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers · 413 U.S. 548 (1973)
• Zablocki v. Redhail · 434 U.S. 374 (1978)
• Hunt v. Cromartie · 526 U.S. 541 (1999)
• Kusper v. Pontikes · 414 U.S. 51 (1973)
• U. S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton · 514 U.S. 779 (1995)
• Rogers v. Lodge · 458 U.S. 613 (1982)
• Richardson v. Ramirez · 418 U.S. 24 (1974)
• California Democratic Party v. Jones · 530 U.S. 567 (2000)
• Rodriguez v. Popular Democratic Party · 457 U.S. 1 (1982)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1972). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).