In United States v. Classic, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the 15th Amendment forbids states from discriminating on the basis of race in primary elections. The Court holds that “under our Constitution the great privilege of the ballot may not be denied a man by the state because of his color.” Later rulings in Smith v. Allwright (1944) and Chapman v. King (1946) will confirm that primary elections are an important part of the electoral process.