A Superior Court judge has dismissed a suit by two defeated Tucson City Council candidates.
The two candidates asked in the suit to either be declared winners or hold a new election.
But Judge Gus Aragon of Pima County Superior Court ruled Republicans Kelly Lawton and Magaret Burkholder filed their challenge too late. Aragon said they should have sued before the election, not after.
The suit followed a 9 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Tucson election system violates the constitutional protection of equal rights. That’s because candidates run in wards in the primary, but citywide in the general election. A three judge panel said Tucson could use only one system. The city is asking for a hearing by the full 9 th Circuit.