Question

The police department of a small city has jurisdiction within the city limits and over a defined portion of the surrounding rural communities within the county. A farmer lives in one of the rural communities receiving police protection from the city. The farmer does not pay any tax to the city directly, but a portion of the farmer's county property tax is turned over by the county to the city in order to support the city's police department.

The farmer's property was vandalized several times over the past several months, and the farmer became unhappy with the police protection that the city was providing. After his complaints to the police department and city hall did not improve the situation, the farmer wanted to vote against the mayor in the next election, but a city ordinance provides that only residents of the city may vote in city elections.

If the farmer brings a suit to compel the city to allow him to vote in the city's mayoral election, is he likely to prevail?

Answer 1

Yes he may prevail

Step-by-step explanation:

He wants to exercise his civic duty and he has every right to file a suit because he has been taxes indirectly to the city.

Firstly, The farmer does not pay any tax directly to the city because a portion of his farm property is turned over by the county to the city to support the city police department, which indirectly, he is paying tax because this support to the city is categorized indirectly as his tax.

Secondly, His farm property has been vandalized several times over the months and the police didn't do anything about it to improve his situation which calls for attention to why nothing has been done about it despite his support to the city police department.

With the two above paragraphs, he has a point and his also lives in one of the rural communities and the city ordinance provides that only residents of the city may vote, but the city ordinance is always the city ordinance, the law might and might not favor him, he could get payment for the damages on his properties, but it would be quite difficult for him to prevail over the suit because he doesn't live in the city