16-204.01. Declaration of statewide concern; city, charter city or town; political subdivision consolidated election dates; voter turnout; definitions

A. After consideration of the court's opinion in City of Tucson v. State, 235 Ariz. 434 (Ct. App. 2014), the legislature finds and determines that it is a matter of statewide concern to increase voter participation in elections, including elections for cities, including charter cities, towns and other political subdivisions, and the legislature finds and declares that if cities, including charter cities, towns and other political subdivisions demonstrate low voter turnout in elections that are not held on the consolidated election dates prescribed in section 16-204, the low voter turnout constitutes sufficient factual support for requiring candidate and other elections to be held on certain specific consolidated dates. The legislature further finds and declares that after evidence of low voter turnout in city, including charter city, and town elections and in elections held for other political subdivisions, increasing voter turnout through the use of consolidated election dates for candidate and other elections as prescribed by this section is a matter of statewide concern. This section preempts all local laws, ordinances and charter provisions to the contrary.

B. A political subdivision shall hold its elections on a statewide election date if its previous elections on a nonstatewide election date resulted in a significant decrease in voter turnout in that political subdivision.

C. Beginning with elections in 2018, for each political subdivision's elections, other than special elections or recall elections, if a significant decrease in voter turnout occurs as prescribed in subsection B of this section, the political subdivision shall hold its subsequent elections on the statewide election dates beginning three calendar years after the occurrence of the significant decrease in voter turnout.

D. For the purposes of this section:

1. " Political subdivision" means any governmental entity operating under the authority of this state and governed by an elected body, including a city, charter city, town, county, school district, community college district or other district organized under state law. Political subdivision does not include a special taxing district.

2. " Significant decrease in voter turnout" means the voter turnout for the office that received the highest number of votes in the most recent candidate election for a political subdivision in which candidates are elected at large, or portion of a political subdivision if candidates are not elected at large, is at least twenty-five percent less than the voter turnout in that same political subdivision or portion of a political subdivision for the most recent election in which the office of the governor appeared on the ballot.

3. " Statewide election date" means the date of the regular statewide primary election and the regular statewide general election.

4. " Voter turnout" means the number of ballots cast in a specific candidate race prescribed by this section divided by the total number of active registered voters in that political subdivision or portion of a political subdivision, as applicable, or if no specific candidate race is prescribed by this section, the number of ballots cast in that political subdivision or portion of a political subdivision, as applicable, divided by the total number of active registered voters in that political subdivision or portion of a political subdivision at the election prescribed by this section.