back in the post Civil War reconstruction era. Some southern Democrats held that their first amendment rights of freedom of association allowed them to prevent blacks from voting in party primaries. Since in many of the rural counties there was no other candidate in many general elections, the Democratic primary was the de-facto election for many local and some state offices.
Courts ruled, and I don't remember the case names, that the Fourteenth Amendment rights of all [male] citizens to vote trumped the First amendment rights of free association.
There is no clear cut guide as to which constitutionally guaranteed rights will prevail in all cases, but the court generally seems to adhere to the principle that "your right to swing your fist ends at the beginning of my nose".
In other words, if by exercising your right, you invariably deprive someone else of his, you are likely to lose. |
