## Facts

- Peter Skafte, a lawful permanent resident living in Boulder, Colorado, sought to register to vote in a local school district election.
- Clela Rorex, the Boulder County Clerk, refused to register him solely because he was not a U.S. citizen.
- Colorado’s school election statutes defined eligible school electors by incorporating the voter qualifications for general elections.
- Colorado’s general election voter qualifications included U.S. citizenship.
- Skafte sued for a declaratory judgment that the citizenship requirement was unconstitutional and for an injunction compelling his registration.
- The district court granted summary judgment to the Clerk, and Skafte appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether limiting the franchise in school district elections to U.S. citizens violates the Equal Protection Clause by excluding lawful permanent resident aliens.
2. Whether the citizenship requirement violates the Due Process Clause, including as an impermissible “conclusive presumption.”
3. Whether the citizenship requirement is preempted by federal immigration and naturalization policy in violation of the Supremacy Clause.

## Decision

- The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for the Clerk.
- The court held the citizenship requirement for voting in school district elections is constitutional.
- The court concluded the citizen/alien distinction in this voting context does not violate equal protection.
- The court rejected the due process challenge, treating the law as a legislative voter-qualification classification rather than a conclusive presumption.
- The court held the statutes were not preempted and did not conflict with federal authority over immigration and naturalization.

## Legal Principles

- Equal protection applies to alienage classifications, but when the classification defines qualifications for participation in the franchise, a state may limit political participation to citizens if the limitation is rationally related to a legitimate state interest.
- A state has a legitimate interest in confining electoral participation to members of its political community, and that interest extends to local school district elections as governmental institutions supported by taxation and state control.
- A voter-qualification rule based on citizenship is a direct legislative classification, not an unconstitutional conclusive presumption, and does not violate due process on that theory.
- State voter-qualification rules generally fall within traditional state authority and are not preempted absent a clear conflict with federal immigration or naturalization law; declining to extend the franchise to aliens is not, by itself, a regulation of immigration.

## Conclusion

The court upheld Colorado’s statutory scheme limiting voting in school district elections to U.S. citizens, concluding the restriction was a permissible voter-qualification rule consistent with equal protection and due process and not preempted by federal law.


Skafte v. Rorex, 553 P.2d 830 (Colo. 1976)