City wins a do-over from 9th Circuit on election case

The city of Tucson has won a chance for a do-over on an important court case about the city election system.

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of three 9th Circuit judges ruled in November that Tucson’s election system is unconstitutional because it violates the 14th Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause, known as the “one man, one vote” protection. That’s because it excludes some voters from the primary election based on the ward in which they live.

The city asked the court to reconsider the case with a panel of 11 judges.

On Wednesday that request was approved. “This is absolutely what we were hoping for,” City Attorney Mike Rankin said.

The approval means the November decision is not final. The larger panel of judges will rehear the case, reviewing the same briefs as the smaller panel.

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The larger panel will also hear oral arguments the week of June 20 in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Tucson voters could get a say in whether to change the election system.

The Tucson City Council will hold hearings at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, on a draft ballot question to change the city election to a ward-only system. That means you’d get to vote only for a council member who represents the ward in which you live.

Under Tucson’s current system, you get to vote in the primary based on which ward you live in, and then you get to vote for all six City Council seats in the general election.

The plaintiffs in the case are the Public Integrity Alliance, Bruce Ash, Fernando Gonzales, Ann Holden and Ken Smalley. Lori Oien had been a plaintiff but dropped out of the case when she took a job with the city.