SUPREME COURT OF ARIZONA
En Banc
CITY OF TUCSON, a municipal ) Arizona Supreme Court
corporation, ) No. CV-11-0150-PR
)
Plaintiff/Appellant, ) Court of Appeals
) Division Two
v. ) No. 2 CA-CV 10-0083
)
STATE OF ARIZONA, ) Pima County
) Superior Court
Defendant/Appellee, ) No. C20097207
)
and )
)
SOUTHERN ARIZONA LEADERSHIP ) O P I N I O N
COUNCIL and SENATOR JONATHAN )
PATON, )
)
Defendant-Intervenors/Appellees. )
)
__________________________________)
Appeal from the Superior Court in Pima County
The Honorable Michael Owen Miller, Judge
REVERSED AND REMANDED
________________________________________________________________
Opinion of the Court of Appeals, Division Two
226 Ariz. 474, 250 P.3d 251 (App. 2011)
VACATED
________________________________________________________________
THOMAS C. HORNE, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL Phoenix
By James E. Barton II
David R. Cole, Solicitor General
Attorneys for State of Arizona
MICHAEL G. RANKIN, TUCSON CITY ATTORNEY Tucson
By Dennis P. McLaughlin, Principal Assistant
City Attorney
Attorneys for City of Tucson
LEWIS AND ROCA LLP Tucson
By John Hinderaker
Jeffrey L. Sklar
S.L. Schorr
Kimberly A. Demarchi Phoenix
Attorneys for Southern Arizona Leadership Council and
Jonathan Paton
BERKE LAW FIRM, PLLC Phoenix
By Ellen M. Van Riper
Attorney for Amicus Curiae League of Arizona Cities and Towns
________________________________________________________________
B A L E S, Justice
¶1 Since statehood, Arizona’s Constitution has included a
“home rule” provision authorizing eligible cities to adopt
charters. Ariz. Const. art. 13, § 2. A charter city has the
power to frame its own organic law, including the power to
determine “who shall be its governing officers and how they
shall be selected.” Strode v. Sullivan, 72 Ariz. 360, 368, 236
P.2d 48, 54 (1951). Based on these principles, we hold that
A.R.S. § 9-821.01, as amended in 2009, does not displace the
method that voters of the City of Tucson chose under its 1929
charter for electing council members.
I.
¶2 Tucson city council members are nominated in ward-
based primary elections but elected in at-large (city-wide)
general elections. These elections are partisan: the primary
selects nominees for particular political parties and the
general election ballot identifies candidates by party
2
affiliation. Tucson has used this system since adopting its
current city charter in 1929.
¶3 In 2009, the Arizona Legislature amended A.R.S. § 9-
821.01 to provide that cities and towns “shall not hold any
election on candidates for which there is any indication on the
ballot of the source of the candidacy or of the support of the
candidate.” Id. § 9-821.01(B); 2009 Ariz. Sess. Laws, ch. 176,
§ 1 (1st Reg. Sess.). The same amendment added § 9-821.01(C),
stating:
Notwithstanding any other law, for any city or town
that provides for election of city or town council
members by district, ward, precinct or other
geographical designation, only those voters who are
qualified electors of the district, ward, precinct or
other geographic designation are eligible to vote for
that council member candidate in the city or town's
primary, general, runoff or other election.
As amended, § 9-821.01 thus bars a city from electing its city
council in partisan elections or in ward-based primaries
combined with at-large general elections.
¶4 The City of Tucson filed this case against the State,
claiming that the amendments to § 9-821.01 do not apply to it as
a charter city. The Southern Arizona Leadership Council and
former Senator Jonathan Paton (collectively “SALC”) intervened
as defendants. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the
superior court entered judgment for the State.
3
¶5 A divided court of appeals reversed, ruling that
A.R.S. § 9-821.01 conflicts with the Tucson Charter and that the
city’s method of selecting its council members is a purely local
issue that cannot be preempted by state law. City of Tucson v.
State, 226 Ariz. 474, 476-80 ¶¶ 7-24, 250 P.3d 251, 253-57 (App.
2011). The dissenting judge concluded that the legislature can
displace Tucson’s use of a ward-based primary combined with an
at-large general election. Id. at 481-84 ¶¶ 29-37, 250 P.3d at
258-61 (Espinosa, J., dissenting in part and concurring in
part).
¶6 We granted review because this case involves legal
issues of statewide importance. The Court has jurisdiction
under Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and
A.R.S. § 12-120.24 (2009).
II.
A.
¶7 Nineteenth century case law and legal commentary
generally viewed cities and towns as entirely subordinate to and
dependent on the state’s legislature for any governmental
authority. See, e.g., Lynn A. Baker & Daniel B. Rodriguez,
Constitutional Home Rule and Judicial Scrutiny, 86 Den. U. L.
Rev. 1337, 1340 (2009) (noting “near consensus view” that
“municipalities had only those powers delegated to them by state
legislatures”); David J. Barron, Reclaiming Home Rule, 116 Harv.
4
L. Rev. 2255, 2277-88 (2003) (describing nineteenth century
views of local government and rise of home rule movement).
¶8 The framers of Arizona’s Constitution, however,
rejected that view, valuing local autonomy. See Toni McClory,
Understanding Arizona’s Constitution 178 (2d ed. 2010).
Accordingly, Arizona’s Constitution bars the state legislature
from enacting “local or special laws” with respect to
“[i]ncorporation of cities, towns, or villages, or amending
their charters,” Ariz. Const. art. 4, pt. 2, § 19(17), and
requires “the legislature, by general laws, [to] provide for the
incorporation and organization of cities and towns and for the
classification of such cities and towns in proportion to
population.” Id. art. 13, § 1.
¶9 More importantly, our Constitution also permits any
city of more than 3500 people to “frame a charter for its own
government consistent with, and subject to, the Constitution and
the laws of the state.” Id. art. 13, § 2. “The purpose of the
home rule charter provision of the Constitution was to render
the cities adopting such charter provisions as nearly
independent of state legislation as was possible.” City of
Tucson v. Walker, 60 Ariz. 232, 239, 135 P.2d 223, 226 (1943)
(quoting Axberg v. City of Lincoln, 2 N.W.2d 613, 614–15 (Neb.
1942)).
5
¶10 Upon approval by the city’s voters and the governor,
the “charter shall become the organic law of such city and
supersede any charter then existing (and all amendments
thereto), and all ordinances inconsistent with said new
charter.” Ariz. Const. art. 13, § 2. Thus, under Arizona’s
Constitution, eligible cities may adopt a charter – effectively,
a local constitution – for their own government without action
by the state legislature. “[A] home rule city deriving its
powers from the Constitution is independent of the state
Legislature as to all subjects of strictly local municipal
concern.” City of Tucson v. Tucson Sunshine Climate Club, 64
Ariz. 1, 8-9, 164 P.2d 598, 602 (1945); see Buntman v. City of
Phoenix, 32 Ariz. 18, 25-27, 255 P. 490, 492-93 (1927) (holding
that city charter provided legislative authorization for
municipal operation of railway under Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 34);
The Records of the Arizona Constitutional Convention of 1910 515
(John S. Goff ed., 1991) [hereinafter Records] (statement of
sponsoring delegate noting that charter provision relieved
cities of need “to go to the legislature for a charter”); John
D. Leshy, The Arizona State Constitution 265-66 (1993).
¶11 There are nineteen “charter cities” in Arizona,
ranging from Yuma in the southwest to Holbrook in the northeast,
and including the former territorial capital Prescott,
Flagstaff, the border cities Nogales and Douglas, and several
6
cities in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.1 Each city has
a distinctive charter establishing the structure of its
government and identifying its various city officials and their
manner of selection. See Arizona League of Cities and Towns,
Charter Government Provisions in Arizona Cities 12-15 (2005)
[hereinafter Charter Government] (tables comparing cities in
governmental structure). In contrast, some seventy-one non-
charter municipalities are governed by general statutes
concerning local government. McClory, supra ¶ 8, at 178; see
Jan Brewer, The Arizona Blue Book 160-70 (2007-08 ed.) (listing
incorporated Arizona cities and towns in 2007).
B.
¶12 Arizona charter cities differ significantly in how
they elect their city councils. Before statehood, cities
generally selected council members – then referred to as
aldermen - by wards, that is, each was elected from a particular
district within the city. See 1901 Territorial Code § 625
(providing for election of two aldermen from each ward). But
the Progressive reform movement that influenced the framing of
Arizona’s Constitution, see, e.g., McClory, supra ¶ 8, at 25-26,
1
The charter cities are Avondale, Bisbee, Casa Grande,
Chandler, Douglas, Flagstaff, Glendale, Goodyear, Holbrook, Mesa,
Nogales, Peoria, Phoenix, Prescott, Scottsdale, Tempe, Tucson,
Winslow, and Yuma. McClory, supra ¶ 8, at 178 & n.31.
7
also affected municipal government. Groups such as the National
Municipal League (now the National Civic League) advocated for
the election of city councils in at-large, nonpartisan
elections, contending that ward-based election systems resulted
in city governments susceptible to control by “political
bosses,” corruption, and parochial neighborhood interests. See
id. at 179-80; H. George Frederickson, Curtis Wood, & Brett
Logan, How American City Governments Have Changed: The Evolution
of the Model City Charter, 90 Nat’l Civic Rev. 3 (2001).
¶13 Many of Arizona’s charter cities adopted at-large
elections for their city councils, and twelve currently use this
method. Charter Government at 12-15. Over time, however, there
has been renewed support for district-based council elections.
Proponents contend that at-large elections may be used to deny
representation to particular groups, such as concentrated
populations of minority or low-income residents, or may result
in the neglect of neighborhood interests.
¶14 Some cities that had adopted at-large elections later
reinstituted district-based elections. Phoenix, for example,
adopted at-large elections in 1948 as part of a “good
government” reform effort. See Carl Abbott, The New Urban
America 142 (1981). In 1982, Phoenix voters amended its charter
to restore district-based council elections after a grassroots
campaign argued this change would increase minority and
8
neighborhood representation. McClory, supra ¶8, at 181; see
also Carl Abbott, The Metropolitan Frontier 104-07 (1993)
(describing adoption of district-based council elections in
various western cities, including Phoenix). Six of Arizona’s
charter cities now elect their city councils on a district or
ward basis. Charter Provisions at 11.2
¶15 Arizona’s Constitution and statutes regarding
municipalities do not express a preference between at-large or
district-based council elections. See generally A.R.S. §§ 9-
232.04, 9-273 (allowing non-charter cities and towns to choose
between at-large and district-based council elections). This
flexibility recognizes that each form of election has possible
advantages and disadvantages; for example, although at-large
members are responsible to electors in the entire city, this may
diminish attention to the interests of particular neighborhoods
or groups; district-based elections, in contrast, assure
representation from different geographic areas but may elevate
particular interests over citywide ones.
2
Nationally, more than 64 percent of municipalities use at-
large council elections in some way, while about 14 percent use
district-based elections and 21 percent use a combined system.
See National League of Cities, Cities 101: Municipal Elections
(2010), available at www.nlc.org/build-skills-
networks/resources/cities-101/municipal-elections.
9
¶16 Tucson is unique among Arizona’s charter cities in its
method for selecting council members. Adopted in 1929, the
Tucson charter provides:
Beginning in the year 1930, and continuing thereafter,
the mayor shall be nominated from and elected by the
voters of the city at large, and the councilmen shall be
nominated each from, and by the respective voters of, the
ward in which he resides, and shall be elected by the
voters of the city at large.
Tucson City Charter Chapter XVI, § 9. The primary and general
elections for council members are partisan. Tucson thus uses a
hybrid election system: Council members are nominated by ward,
so that the council includes members from different geographic
regions of the city, see id. § 5, but they are elected by all
the city’s voters in the general election.
¶17 In November 1991, Tucson voters rejected a proposal to
replace at-large general elections with district-based
elections. Two years later, they rejected a proposal to change
from partisan to non-partisan elections.
C.
¶18 More than sixty years ago, this Court considered a
charter city’s authority to structure its own government in
Strode, which involved the non-partisan election system that
Phoenix adopted in 1912. See Phoenix City Charter Chapter XII
(1912). State statutes then generally entitled political
parties to be represented on ballots for state, county, and city
10
offices. Strode at 361-62, 236 P.2d at 49-50. The Court,
however, held that these statutes did not displace the Phoenix
charter, which provided that “nothing on the ballot shall be
indicative of the source of the candidacy or the support of any
candidate.” Id. at 363, 236 P.2d at 50 (quoting Phoenix City
Charter Chapter XII, sec. 9).
¶19 Strode recognized that Article 13, Section 2 requires
city charters to be “consistent with, and subject to, the
Constitution and the laws of the state.” This provision, the
Court held, does not subject charter cities to the legislature’s
plenary power. 72 Ariz. at 365, 236 P.2d at 51. Instead, the
phrase “laws of the state” refers to laws addressing matters of
“statewide interest” rather than “local concern.” Id. (citing
City of Wewoka v. Rodman, 46 P.2d 334, 335 (Okla. 1935)).
Reviewing prior decisions, the Court in Strode explained:
[T]his court has uniformly held that a city charter,
when regularly adopted and approved, becomes the
organic law of the city and the provisions of the
charter supersede all laws of the state in conflict
with such charter provisions insofar as such laws
relate to purely municipal affairs.
Id. at 365, 236 P.2d at 51; see also City of Tucson v. Walker,
60 Ariz. at 239, 135 P.2d at 226 (observing that “where the
legislative act deals with a strictly local municipal concern,
it can have no application to a city which has adopted a home
rule charter”) (quoting Axberg, 2 N.W.2d at 615.).
11
¶20 Consistent with earlier decisions, the Court in Strode
applied a formalistic analysis: whether general state laws
displace charter provisions depends on whether the subject
matter is characterized as of statewide or purely local
interest. 72 Ariz. at 365, 236 P.2d at 51. This approach can
be problematic in application. See Note, Conflicts between
State Statutes and Municipal Ordinances, 72 Harv. L. Rev. 737,
740-43 (1959) (discussing challenges courts have faced in
identifying “exclusively local” matters subject to municipal
home rule). The concepts of “local” versus “statewide” interest
do not have self-evident definitions. Many municipal issues
will be of both local and state concern, and distinguishing
between matters that are properly subject to local versus state
control often involves case-specific line drawing. Strode
recognized as much, noting that “[s]ome difference of opinion is
evidenced in the reported cases as to what activities of a
charter city are of local interest or concern and therefore free
from legislative interference.” 72 Ariz. at 366, 236 P.2d at
52; cf. Baker & Rodriguez, supra ¶ 7, at 1344 (observing that
the task of discerning what is or is not a local affair is
“necessarily ad hoc”).
¶21 But whatever the general difficulties in identifying
matters of local concern, Strode is absolutely clear that
12
charter city governments enjoy autonomy with respect to
structuring their own governments.
The framers of the Constitution, in authorizing a
qualified city to frame a charter for its own
government, certainly contemplated the need for
officers and the necessity of a procedure for their
selection. These are essentials which are confronted
at the very inception of any undertaking looking
toward the preparation of a governmental structure. We
can conceive of no essentials more inherently of local
interest or concern to the electors of a city than who
shall be its governing officers and how they shall be
selected.
72 Ariz. at 368, 236 P.2d at 54 (emphasis added).
¶22 Underscoring this point, the Court said: “We therefore
specifically hold that the method and manner of conducting
elections in the city of Phoenix is peculiarly the subject of
local interest and is not a matter of statewide concern.” Id.
Accordingly, the state statutes providing for partisan ballots
did not displace the Phoenix charter provisions for non-partisan
elections.
¶23 This Court subsequently relied on Strode in a case
involving Tucson city elections. In Triano v. Massion, a
prospective candidate argued that the one-year residency
requirement in Tucson’s charter conflicted with a state statute
merely requiring candidates to reside in the district they
proposed to represent. 109 Ariz. 506, 513 P.2d 935 (1973).
Upholding Tucson’s residency requirement, the Court confirmed
that “[m]unicipal elections are matters of local interest and
13
not matters of statewide concern.” Id. at 508, 513 P.2d at 937
(citing Strode, 72 Ariz. 360, 236 P.2d 48).
III.
¶24 With this background, we consider whether A.R.S. § 9-
821.01 displaces the method that Tucson has used under its 1929
charter to elect its city council.
A.
¶25 SALC and the State first argue that the prohibition on
partisan elections in § 9-821(B) should apply to Tucson because
its charter does not require partisan council elections but
instead incorporates the state’s general laws.
¶26 Tucson’s charter does incorporate certain state
election laws. With respect to primary elections, the charter
provides:
The provisions of the general laws of the State of
Arizona relating to and governing primary elections
and the nomination of elective officers, whether by
primary or certificate of nomination (being the whole
of title 16, Arizona Revised Statutes, 1956, and each
and every provision of said title with all amendments
and supplements thereto) applicable to a city of the
population and the class of this city, shall apply and
govern the holding of primaries and nominations of
elective officers.
Tucson City Charter Chapter XVI, § 2. The Tucson charter also
states that “[t]he provisions of the general laws of the State
of Arizona, governing the elections of state and county
14
officers, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter,
shall govern the said elections . . . .” Id. § 7.
¶27 The charter provisions, however, do not incorporate §
9-821.01(B). This statute is not part of Title 16’s provisions
“relating to and governing primary elections and the nomination
of elective officers.” Id. § 2. Nor is it among the state’s
general laws governing the elections of state and county
officers. Instead, the charter’s reference to the state’s
general laws regarding “primary elections and the nomination of
elective officers” is more reasonably interpreted as
contemplating partisan elections. See A.R.S. § 16-311(A)
(providing for partisan nominations in a “primary election”);
id. § 16-311(B) (providing selection process for “nonpartisan
elections”).
¶28 Tucson has conducted partisan elections for its city
council for over eighty years. Tucson’s charter at the least
permits partisan elections, and thus conflicts with § 9-
821.01(B), which forbids them.
¶29 Moreover, § 9-821.01(C), as SALC and the State
acknowledge, plainly conflicts with Tucson’s charter in another
respect. The statute bars a city that uses a ward-based primary
for council members from using an at-large general election.
Id. Tucson’s charter states that “councilmen shall be nominated
each from, and by the respective voters of, the ward in which he
15
resides, and shall be elected by the voters of the city at
large.” Tucson City Charter Chapter XVI, § 9.
B.
¶30 Under Strode, Tucson’s manner of electing its city
council members supersedes the conflicting provisions of A.R.S.
§ 9-821.01(B) and (C). The Court held in Strode that the City
of Phoenix could select its council in nonpartisan elections.
If the local autonomy granted by Article 13, Section 2 allows a
city to opt not to use partisan elections, the converse must
also be true: a city may choose to use partisan elections.
¶31 Strode’s rationale also extends to Tucson’s decision
to use ward-based primaries and at-large general council
elections. In characterizing the method of electing city
officers as a “purely municipal concern,” Strode noted that the
framers of our Constitution allowed charter cities to structure
their own governments. 72 Ariz. at 368, 236 P.2d at 54. The
Court could “conceive of no essentials more inherently of local
interest or concern to the electors of a city than who shall be
its governing officers and how they shall be selected.” Id. If
the “home rule” provisions of Article 13, Section 2 are to have
effect, they must at the least afford charter cities autonomy in
choosing how to elect their governing officers.
¶32 We therefore must consider whether there is reason to
reconsider or qualify Strode’s holding that “the method and
16
manner of conducting elections” for a charter city “is
peculiarly the subject of local interest and is not a matter of
statewide concern.” Id. at 368, 236 P.2d at 54.
¶33 The State argues that we should defer to the
legislature’s finding in A.R.S. § 9-821.01(A) that “the conduct
of elections described in this section is a matter of statewide
concern.” The statute also declares:
Arizona courts have recognized that the Constitution
of Arizona requires the legislature's involvement in
issues relating to elections conducted by charter
cities, including initiative and referendum elections,
the method of elections other than by ballot, laws
relating to primary elections, voter registration laws
to prevent abuse and fraud and campaign finance laws.
Id. The State notes that no similar findings were present in
Strode.
¶34 For several reasons, § 9-821.01(A) does not cause us
to reassess Strode. Although we respect findings by the
legislature, whether state law prevails over conflicting charter
provisions under Article 13, Section 2 is a question of
constitutional interpretation. See City of Tucson v. Walker, 60
Ariz. at 238-39, 135 P.2d at 226-27; cf. Forty-Seventh
Legislature of State v. Napolitano, 213 Ariz. 482, 485 ¶ 8, 143
P.3d 1023, 1026 (2006) (noting that courts are ultimately
responsible for interpreting the constitution). The issue is
not whether the legislature acted constitutionally in enacting
§ 9-821.01(A)-(C); we presume that it did and assume, without
17
deciding, that the statute applies to non-charter cities. We
must instead determine whether, notwithstanding this statute,
the constitution affords charter cities autonomy in structuring
the elections of their governing councils.
¶35 We do not question that some aspects of the conduct of
local elections may be of statewide concern. See, e.g., City of
Tucson v. State, 191 Ariz. 436, 439, 957 P.2d 341, 344 (App.
1997) (finding statewide interest in specifying uniform dates
for municipal elections). But election dates, other
administrative aspects of elections, and the various examples
listed in § 9-821.01(A) all involve matters qualitatively
different from determining how a city will constitute its
governing council.
¶36 The State also contends that the federal Voting Rights
Act (“VRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1973 (2006), creates a statewide
interest in barring Tucson’s use of at-large council elections.
Since the 1975 amendments to the VRA, Arizona has been a
“covered jurisdiction”: the state and its political subdivisions
must seek federal approval (preclearance) under section 5 of the
VRA before implementing any change affecting voting. See 42
U.S.C. § 1973c; 28 C.F.R. §§ 51.26-51.28.
¶37 To be relieved of the preclearance requirement,
Arizona must show that, for the last ten years, neither it nor
any of its political subdivisions has engaged in any
18
discriminatory voting practice. See 42 U.S.C. § 1973b(a)(3).
The State also would have to show that it and “all governmental
units within its territory . . . have eliminated voting
procedures and methods of election which inhibit or dilute equal
access to the electoral process.” 42 U.S.C. § 1973b(a)(1)(F).
The State argues that Tucson’s continued use of at-large
elections might jeopardize Arizona’s ability to be relieved from
the preclearance requirements because at-large council elections
have sometimes been found to violate the VRA.3
¶38 The VRA, however, does not alter Strode’s analysis of
the relative power of the state legislature and charter cities
regarding the structure of city government. Tucson undeniably
must comply with applicable federal law. But at-large elections
do not necessarily violate either the federal constitution or
the VRA. See Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 48 (1986). The
State does not claim, nor is there any evidence in the record
suggesting, that Tucson’s method of selecting its city council
violates the VRA. Indeed, Tucson has elected minority council
members for decades and two of its current council members are
Hispanic.
3
At-large elections for city councils violate § 2 of the Voting
Rights Act when they deny minority voting rights. See, e.g.,
United States v. Village of Port Chester, 704 F. Supp. 2d 411,
446 (S.D.N.Y. 2010); Benavidez v. City of Irving, 638 F. Supp. 2d
709, 732 (N.D. Tex. 2009).
19
¶39 Concerns to prevent possible violations of the VRA do
not support A.R.S. § 9-821.01(C) trumping Tucson’s charter. The
statute does not affect the many Arizona municipalities that use
at-large elections for both primaries and general elections, and
Tucson could satisfy the statute’s requirements by retaining its
at-large general election while abandoning ward-based primaries.
¶40 We also reject the State’s suggestion that the Arizona
Constitution, as interpreted in Strode, somehow changed as a
result of Congress’s enactment of the VRA in 1965 and the
extension of the preclearance requirements to Arizona in 1975.
Although congressional enactments can preempt state law under
the Supremacy Clause, U.S. Const. art VI, there is no contention
that Congress has preempted the home rule provisions in
Arizona’s Constitution, and we do not believe the VRA impliedly
amended them. If Arizona’s Constitution has become outdated in
its respect for local autonomy, it is up to Arizona’s voters to
approve any amendment.
¶41 Independent of the VRA, the State contends that § 9-
821.01 involves matters of statewide concern because it promotes
“equality in the democratic process.” Arizona’s Constitution
recognizes that “governments derive their just powers from the
consent of the governed,” art. 2, § 2, and provides that “[a]ll
elections shall be free and equal, and no power, civil or
military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free
20
exercise of the right of suffrage.” Art. 2, § 21. Article 7,
Section 12 of the Constitution states that “[t]here shall be
enacted registration and other laws to secure the purity of
elections and guard against abuses of the elective franchise.”
¶42 Some state courts have held that legislatures may
require home-rule cities to adopt district-based elections for
city councils. See, e.g., Jacobberger v. Terry, 320 N.W.2d 903
(Neb. 1982); Casuse v. City of Gallup, 746 P.2d 1103 (N.M.
1987). Other state court decisions, like Strode, have
recognized that aspects of municipal elections are of local
concern, although some of these decisions concern constitutional
provisions that specifically empower cities to regulate
municipal elections. See, e.g., Johnson v. Bradley, 841 P.2d
990 (Cal. 1992) (holding that city charter authorizing partial
public financing of campaigns for elective city office
superseded state statute in light of art. 11, section 5(e) of
California Constitution); State v. Callahan, 221 P. 718 (Okla.
1923) (holding that state law did not displace charter
provisions for non-partisan municipal primary); Ex parte Boalt,
260 P. 1004 (Or. 1927) (stating that election of municipal judge
was of purely local concern).
¶43 We are not persuaded by the out-of-state cases cited
by the State. In Jacobberger, the Nebraska Supreme Court held
that a statute mandating district-based elections displaced
21
Omaha’s charter provisions for at-large elections, noting that
“the primary concern of the legislation was to insure the
fundamental right to vote and the right to proportionate
representation.” 320 N.W.2d at 907. No similar intent was
identified by Arizona’s Legislature in amending A.R.S. § 9-
821.01; that statute, as noted, does not bar at-large elections
as such; and at-large elections do not necessarily deny voting
rights protected by Arizona’s Constitution or federal law. In
Casuse, the New Mexico Supreme Court, relying on its prior
decisions interpreting New Mexico’s constitution as allowing
general legislation to limit a municipality’s home-rule power,
held that a state law preempted Gallup’s charter provision for
at-large council elections. 746 P.2d at 1104. This reasoning
is contrary to Strode and other Arizona decisions.
¶44 The State finally observes that Tucson’s method of
electing council members has resulted in candidates winning in
the general election who did not receive the most votes in the
ward from which they were nominated. The State contends that if
a council member represents a particular ward, the State has an
interest in assuring the person has the support of a majority of
the ward’s voters. But Tucson council members, although
nominated by ward, represent the entire city, just as do council
members elected at large in other cities.
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¶45 An at-large council election by its nature allows
candidates to win who may not receive a majority of votes in
particular areas of the city. (District based elections, in
contrast, allow council members to vote on matters affecting the
entire city even though they are not elected, and might not be
preferred, by a majority of the city’s voters.) The provisions
in Arizona’s Constitution regarding voting rights, however, do
not require cities generally to adopt district-based elections.
Instead, Article 13, Section 2 allows a charter city to
determine “who shall be its governing officers and how they
shall be selected.” Strode, 72 Ariz. at 368, 236 P.2d at 54.
¶46 Determining the method for electing city council
members necessarily involves a weighing of competing policy
concerns. Our opinion neither involves policy choices nor
endorses one method of election over another; instead it
considers whether Arizona’s Constitution entrusts those issues
to the voters of charter cities or the state legislature.
¶47 Given Article 13, Section 2, the intent of Arizona’s
framers, and the history of municipal government in our state,
we hold that electors in charter cities may determine under
their charters whether to constitute their councils on an at-
large or district basis and whether to conduct their elections
on a partisan basis. In so doing, they must of course comply
with the Arizona Constitution and federal law. But the local
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autonomy preserved for charter cities by Arizona’s Constitution
allows Tucson voters to continue electing their council members
pursuant to the city’s 1929 charter notwithstanding A.R.S. § 9-
821.01(B) and (C).
CONCLUSION
¶48 We vacate the opinion of the court of appeals and
remand the case to the superior court for entry of summary
judgment in favor of the City of Tucson.
_____________________________________
W. Scott Bales, Justice
CONCURRING:
_____________________________________
Rebecca White Berch, Chief Justice
_____________________________________
Andrew D. Hurwitz, Vice Chief Justice
_____________________________________
A. John Pelander, Justice
_____________________________________
Robert M. Brutinel, Justice
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