In the 1970 case of Jenness et al. v. Fortson, Secretary of State of Georgia, the U.S Supreme Court unanimously upheld a Georgia law that required independent candidates and new political parties to petition for ballot access by obtaining signatures from 5% of eligible voters in order to appear on general election ballots. The plaintiffs argued this was an unconstitutional burden on their First Amendment rights and violated equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment as established major parties were not subject to these requirements. However, Justice Hugo Black writing for the court found no constitutional violation because all aspirants are treated equally; they can either choose to become a candidate through one of two routes - via an existing party or as an independent/new party candidate with sufficient public support demonstrated through petitions.

There was no dissenting opinion in the case of Jenness et al. v. Fortson, Secretary of State of Georgia, 1970 as it was a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court.