A view of a flag signifying the city of Scottsdale at the Scottsdale City Hall complex in downtown Scottsdale (Independent Newsmedia/Melissa Fittro) While Scottsdale will not hold an Aug. 30 primary election, the city will still host early voting from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, through Friday, Aug. 26, at Scottsdale City Hall, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd. Only two candidates filed to run for mayor and four filed to run for three City Council seats by the June 1 deadline, making a Scottsdale primary election unnecessary. The general election takes place Tuesday, Nov. 8. Incumbent Mayor Jim Lane will face former City Council member Bob Littlefield in the mayor’s race. Four candidates, incumbents Suzanne Klapp, Virginia Korte and Guy Phillips, and resident Dan Schweiker, will run for three seats on the City Council. In addition to the mayor and city council races, Scottsdale voters will decide a proposed amendment to the City Charter. The proposed amendment corrects outdated charter language to accurately reflect that:

• The city’s primary and general elections are held concurrently with the state’s primary and general elections in conformance with state law;
• The terms for the mayor and city council members begin on the first regular meeting in January of the year following their election.

Many Scottsdale residents receive early ballots – more than 100,000. But last election fewer than 30,000 were actually voted and returned, according to a press release. Avoid long lines on election day and return the postage-paid early ballot. Find more information about Scottsdale’s 2016 election, including links to voter registration and early ballot requests at ScottsdaleAZ.gov, search “elections.”