Guam has a law that says Guam residents who became citizens by a particular act of Congress in 1950, and their descendants, are entitled to register to vote in any future plebiscite on the future political status of Guam. This special list of registered voters is separate from the general list. The law also says no such plebiscite will be held until a large percentage of eligible residents actually register for this election.
A resident of Guam who doesn’t meet the qualifications for the special list sued in U.S. District Court in 2011, seeking to invalidate the special registration list. Guam tried to defend the law by saying the lawsuit isn’t ripe, because the proportion of eligible people who have actually signed up for the special list is far too low, and therefore any such future election, and future use of the special registration list, is in the far future.
The U.S. District Court initially agreed with the Guam government, but then the Ninth Circuit ruled the case is ripe, and sent it back. On March 8, the U.S. District Court struck down the law setting up the special registration list. The case is Davis v Guam Election Commission, 1:11cv-35. The basis for the decision is the Fifteenth Amendment, which does not permit any voting restriction based on race. Approximately 99% of the Guam residents who gained citizenship by a special act of Congress in 1950 were native Chamorros, and the law, by limiting the special registration list to those individuals and their descendants, was found by the court to be a racial test.