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U.S. Constitution AnnotatedAmendment 14

Amendment 14 — Public Designation And Facially Non Neutral Laws

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Commentary below is sourced from the Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) mirror of the U.S. Constitution Annotated, used per LII's robots.txt with 10-second crawl-delay compliance.

Commentary

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Fourteenth Amendment , Section 1:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

It is unconstitutional to designate candidates on the ballot by race,[1](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-14/public-designation-and-facially-non-neutral-laws#fn1amd14 " Anderson v. Martin, 375 U.S. 399 (1964). ") and apparently, any sort of designation by race on public records is suspect, although not necessarily unlawful.[2](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-14/public-designation-and-facially-non-neutral-laws#fn2amd14 " Tancil v. Woolls, 379 U.S. 19 (1964) (summarily affirming lower court rulings sustaining law requiring that every divorce decree indicate race of husband and wife, but voiding laws requiring separate lists of White and Black citizens in voting, tax, and property records). ")

Footnotes

1

Anderson v. Martin, 375 U.S. 399 (1964) .

2

Tancil v. Woolls, 379 U.S. 19 (1964) (summarily affirming lower court rulings sustaining law requiring that every divorce decree indicate race of husband and wife, but voiding laws requiring separate lists of White and Black citizens in voting, tax, and property records).

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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.