of residents are the only individuals allowed to vote in the annexation election. Significantly, residents of the unincorporated area of the County are not allowed to vote, unless they are among the few who reside in the unincorporated territory to be annexed. The five plaintiff registered voters reside in the unincorporated area of the County, do not reside in any of the territories to be annexed, and therefore are not able to vote in any of the annexation elections. The plaintiffs contend that this disenfranchisement of the residents of the unincorporated area of the County is a denial of the right to vote in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Besides the municipalities, the State of Missouri and Richard King, Director of Revenue of theSouth Dakota was divided into organized and unorganized counties. Residents of each organized county voted for various county officials. These officials then administered the affairs of their organized county and any adjacent unorganized county. The officials performed a number of important governmental functions. Residents of the unorganized counties were not allowed to vote in the elections for county officials. The Court of Appeals held that this disenfranchisement violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The residents of the unorganized counties had a right to vote in the elections for county officials because they had a "substantial interest" in the outcome of those elections. A compelling state interest was therefore necessary to justify the disenfranchisement of the residents of the unorganized counties. The holding of Little Thunder