King v. Chapman (1946) addressed discrimination in primary elections restricted to whites; which constitutional guarantee did it involve?

• A. The 14th Amendment equal protection guarantee
• B. The 15th Amendment
• C. The 1st Amendment
• D. The 5th Amendment

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that racial discrimination in a state-run election process falls under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Guarantee. King v. Chapman dealt with a whites-only primary, a practice authorized by or operated through state action, which denied Black citizens the equal protection of the laws in their ability to participate in elections. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that state actions treat people equally and cannot impose racial classifications that deprive individuals of rights or privileges without a strong, justifying reason. While the Fifteenth Amendment also prohibits denying the right to vote on account of race, the framework most directly governing the challenged state action in this context is equal protection, making the Fourthteen Amendment option the best fit. The First Amendment and the federal-action focus of the Fifth Amendment don’t address this kind of voting-equality issue.