How a Phoenix council district could have up to 4 different representatives in 13 months

Over the next 13 months, as many as four different council members could represent Phoenix's District 7 seat, which encompasses parts of downtown and the southwest portion of the city.

Yassamin Ansari's resignation on March 28 means the City Council will temporarily appoint a replacement to the seat this April. But, the vacancy also triggers a special election on top of the pre-scheduled regular election, both of which are scheduled for November.

That means District 7 residents will vote in two races for one seat. On the same ballot. On the same day.

The vacancy sets the district up for a year of splintered representation. At best, the area sees as few as two representatives. But if each of the election winners are different from the temporary replacement, then the district stands to see as many as three different representatives, following the end of Ansari's service, by April 2025. In one potential scenario, District 7 could be represented by the special election winner for roughly one month.

Here's what you need to know and the different scenarios that could play out.

A brief timeline for District 7

End of March 2024: Ansari will officially resign on March 28. Candidates who wish to replace Ansari in the special election can begin collecting signatures to petition to be on the ballot.

April 2024: The City Council will vote on a temporary replacement for Ansari. This appointee will serve the district until the winner of the special election takes over. The current plan is to vote on April 9, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Kate Gallego.

May 2024: Candidates interested in running for the District 7 seat for the four-year term as part of the regular election must announce their interest. They can begin collecting signatures on May 9.

June 8 - July 8, 2024: Signature petitions are due for candidates to qualify for the November ballot.

Nov. 5, 2024: The special election and regular election will take place. This means District 7 voters will see two races on their ballot, both for City Council. The special election winner would represent the area until the expiration of the term in April 2025, and the regular election winner would represent the area for four years starting in late April 2025.

Possible March 2025 date: To win a City Council election, a candidate must win more than 50% of the vote. If there is no clear winner in either or both the special and general elections in November, then a run-off election would be scheduled for March 2025. The appointee will stay representing the area until a special election winner is declared.

April 2025: The District 7 term expires, and the regular election winner is sworn in for an official, four-year term.

The possible scenarios: As few as two, as many as four

District 7 is guaranteed at least two council members over the next year but could see as many as four.

Two representatives: The District could see as few as two representatives if the temporary replacement to Ansari, selected by the mayor and City Council, runs for and wins both the special and general elections. This would mean the appointee would finish out Ansari's term for a year before beginning their own four-year term in April 2025.

Four representatives: If different candidates win the special election and the regular election, and if the appointee either doesn't run for election or does so unsuccessfully, then District 7 would see an appointee serve after Ansari from April 2024 until November 2024 or March 2025. The special election winner would serve from November 2024 or March 2025 until April 2025 and then the regular election winner serve four years starting in April 2025.

Three representatives: There are various ways three representatives could serve District 7: One way is if the appointee doesn't run for election, but a single candidate wins both the special and general election. Another way is if the appointee wins the special election but not the regular election, or vise versa.

A representative for as little as a month? It's possible

If the November special election results in no winning candidate, a March runoff will be scheduled. If the March special election runoff winner is not the appointee who was already serving the district and is not the regular election winner or regular election runoff winner, then that person will serve District 7 between March and April of 2025.

That person would start representing District 7 the first business day after the canvassing of votes from the special runoff election.

Why is all this happening?

Phoenix's charter, which serves as the city constitution, requires the city to schedule a special election any time a council member vacates their seat more than a year out from the end of their term. It also requires the council to appoint a replacement.

Ansari's term ends April 21, 2025. She is resigning on March 28, the date legally required by state law, because that's when she plans to submit her signatures to run for Congress. The special election must be scheduled at least 120 days after the resignation.

That requirement, combined with state law that consolidates elections to just four dates a year (the second Tuesday in March, the third Tuesday in May, the first Tuesday in August and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November), means the special election legally has to be scheduled in either August or November.

City Clerk Denise Archibald said Phoenix was opting for November because "when a city race is on the county ballot, additional time is needed. Therefore, there is not sufficient time for this to make the August election."

Challenging time ahead for candidates in District 7

The unusual circumstance for District 7 presents a challenging set of logistics for candidates. There's not only the choice of whether to pursue the seat but how.

Incumbents often have an advantage at election time because they can point to experience and have some name recognition. Those interested in succeeding Ansari could get a boost if they can convince the City Council to appoint them as the temporary replacement.

But that process happens quickly, and if candidates are unaware of that timeline, they could miss out.

Then there's the decision of whether to focus just on the regular election or the special election and the regular election. Running for both means the candidate can take office sooner, and it ensures more continuous representation for residents.

However, it could be confusing and difficult to convince residents to vote for a candidate twice on the same ballot for the same seat.

To get on the ballot, candidates have to collect a certain number of signatures. That means to run in both the special and general election race, the candidate has to collect twice as many signatures. The candidate could get each resident to sign both petitions, but there's a caveat.

Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari resigns: What's next for Phoenix?

Candidates for the special election can begin collecting signatures immediately after Ansari resigns on March 28, but candidates for the regular election cannot begin collecting signatures until May 9.

Those interested in running for City Council should visit phoenix.gov/cityclerk/elections. Information is currently available for the Nov. 5 regular election. Information about the upcoming special election will be posted after March 28.

Taylor Seely covers Phoenix for The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Reach her at [email protected] or by phone at 480-476-6116.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 2, maybe 4 people could serve a Phoenix council district in a year