## Facts

- West Virginia law required political subdivisions to obtain approval from 60% of voters in a referendum before incurring bonded indebtedness or increasing certain tax rates.
- On April 29, 1968, the Roane County Board of Education submitted two separate measures to county voters: (1) $1,830,000 in general obligation bonds for school construction and improvements; and (2) a tax levy increase to fund school current expenditures and capital improvements.
- Each measure received a simple majority (approximately 51.55% for the bond issue and 51.51% for the levy), but both were declared defeated for failing to reach 60%.
- Supporters of the measures alleged the county’s school facilities were substantially outdated and below statewide standards, and that prior similar proposals had also failed despite majority support.
- Voters who supported the measures challenged the constitutionality of the 60% requirement under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

## Issues

1. Whether a state violates the Equal Protection Clause by requiring a 60% supermajority vote in referenda to approve certain local bond issues and tax increases.
2. Whether a supermajority requirement impermissibly dilutes votes or creates an unconstitutional preference for those opposing the measures, even when all qualified voters may vote and each vote is counted equally.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the judgment invalidating the 60% requirement.
- The Court held, 7–2, that the 60% requirement did not violate the Equal Protection Clause or any other constitutional provision.
- The Court concluded the rule did not discriminate against, or authorize discrimination against, any identifiable class of voters.
- The Court distinguished cases involving unequal weighting of votes or exclusion from the franchise, reasoning that the West Virginia scheme permitted all qualified voters to participate on equal terms.
- Justice Harlan concurred in the result; Justices Brennan and Marshall dissented.

## Legal Principles

- A state may require a supermajority vote for approval of specified governmental actions, including bonded indebtedness and tax increases, without violating equal protection when the rule applies evenhandedly to all voters.
- Equal protection is implicated in voting cases when the state assigns unequal weight to votes or excludes a class from the franchise; a neutral supermajority threshold does neither.
- The Constitution does not guarantee that policy choices must be adopted by a simple majority; states may structure decision rules to require broader consensus for certain measures.
- Heightened scrutiny is not triggered absent discrimination against a suspect class or a burden on a fundamental right as traditionally understood in voting-rights doctrine.

## Conclusion

The Court upheld West Virginia’s 60% referendum requirement for certain local fiscal measures because it treated all voters equally, did not dilute votes through unequal weighting or exclusion, and reflected a permissible state choice to require broader consensus before approving long-term public debt or tax increases.


Gordon v. Lance, 403 U.S. 1 (1971)