District Attorney: Carson City compliant with ward voting structure following court decision
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Mon, 11/30/2015 - 1:18pm
An error in a Reno newspaper about a recent federal court ruling has led to some confusion about ward elections in Carson City, according to District Attorney Jason Woodbury.
A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that a certain “hybrid” method of electing members to a governing body is unconstitutional.
The “hybrid” system at issue in the case established ward only voting in the primary election of members of the Tucson City Council and city-wide voting in the general election. It is the exact system presented in question CC-1 that was included on the 2014 ballot in Carson City. That ballot question was defeated.
“To my knowledge, there is no ongoing effort to modify Carson City’s election structure to allow ward-only voting in either the primary or general election,” said Woodbury.
As such, in Carson City, the Mayor and all Supervisors are elected on an at-large basis in both primary and general elections. Carson City Charter §2.010(4). The only eligibility requirement related to ward boundaries is that a Supervisor is required to be a “qualified elector” and “resident of the ward which he or she represents.” Carson City Charter §2.010(3).
After the Ninth Circuit ruling was issued, the Reno Gazette-Journal printed an article indicating that Carson City and Henderson had adopted the “hybrid” system which the ruling invalidated. The RGJ has since corrected the story.
Some members of the public, apparently in reliance on the erroneous article, seem to misconceive that Carson City has adopted the system which has been invalidated, said Woodbury.
“My office reviewed the Ninth Circuit panel opinion after it was issued, and we intend to continue to monitor the progress of the case,” said Woodbury. “I am confident that the structure of Carson City elections is fully compliant with the decision and with all constitutional requirements.”
