Hill v. Stone
United States Supreme Court
421 U.S. 289 (1975)
Texas law required a municipal bond issue to be approved both by a majority of participants voting as registrants of taxable property and by the combined majority of all voters; Fort Worth's library bond election won the combined majority but failed the property-registrant majority, so the city treated the measure as defeated. Non-registrant voters (plaintiffs) sued, arguing the dual-approval scheme unconstitutionally preferred property registrants in violation of equal protection; the district court agreed, and city officials sought Supreme Court review.
Whether a law restricting eligibility to vote in an election of general interest based on a classification other than age, citizenship, or residency violates equal protection when the restriction does not serve a compelling state interest.