Court Opinion

ID: 9729011
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 14:24:18.773465+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:54.151791
License: Public Domain

Concurring Opinion by
Mr. Justice Roberts:
I agree with the majority that the court below did not err in refusing to grant equitable relief, especially in light of the fact that the registration had already been held. However, it is not inappropriate that I take this opportunity to emphasize some of the elements necessary to sustain the validity of field registration.
It is settled law that all voter registrations must be conducted in such a manner that all members of the public have an equal and adequate opportunity to place their names on the voting lists. No preferences may be given nor disadvantages imposed upon any individual, political party or geographical area. And all facilities used for registration should be open to the public at large. This latter element was absent in Devlin v. Osser, 434 Pa. 408, 254 A. 2d 303 (1969), in which this Court concluded that “the right to register at a particular place was denied to all but a select' few.” Id. In addition, field registration must be fairly, impartially and equally allocated — as to the num*419ber of such designated registration days, their location and hours of operation — without advantage or discrimination to any segment of the voting population.
Further, the characteristics outlined are essential if the constitutional requirements mandated in the analogous one-man, one-vote decisions are to be fulfilled. In Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 566, 84 S. Ct. 1362, 1384 (1964), the Supreme Court stated: “Diluting the weight of votes because of place of residence impairs basic constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment just as much as invidious discriminations based upon factors such as race ... or economic status.” See Butcher v. Bloom, 415 Pa. 438, 203 A. 2d 556 (1964). In much the same way, the right to vote is diluted if one group of people is prejudiced by lack of reasonably equal access to voting registration locations. Nor may registrations be scheduled, allocated or operated in such places and at such times as to afford any favoritism or advantage to any residents, areas or political parties within the community.
The same requirements of fairness and equality which constitutionally protect the right to vote, in my view, apply equally to the opportunities for registration, since registration is an essential prerequisite to the right to vote. Thus, we must constantly be on guard to insure that such places and times of registration offer the same opportunity to all of the public to place their names among the eligible electorate. Otherwise, in effect, the right to vote is denied just as surely as if officials in charge of the election process arbitrarily selected every fifth person at the polling places and informed such individuals that they may not vote.