Public Integrity Alliance, Inc. v. City of Tucson

The structure of municipal governments and methods of selecting municipal officials vary greatly across the country. Such diversity is a manifestation of our federal structure, which ideally, though not always, “allows local policies ‘more sensitive to the diverse needs of a heterogeneous society,’ permits ‘innovation and experimentation,’ enables greater citizen ‘involvement in democratic processes,’ and makes government ‘more responsive by putting the States in competition for a mobile citizenry.’ ” Bond v. United States, 564 U.S. 211, 221 , 131 S.Ct. 2355 , 180 L.Ed.2d 269 (2011) (quoting Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 452, 458 , 111 S.Ct. 2395 , 115 L.Ed.2d 410 (1991)). This case requires us to consider the constitutional validity of one municipality’s chosen election system.

Public Integrity Alliance, a nonprofit corporation, and four Tucson voters (collectively referred to as “Public Integrity Alliance”) challenge as unconstitutional the City of Tucson’s system for electing members of its city council. We hold that Tucson’s system does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and so affirm the district court’s…