Examining school board elections in Tucson, Arizona, the study focused on the extent to which voters preferred candidates of their own racial/ethnic background, the socio-political factors affecting the voters' preferences, and the degree of voter polarization among Chicano and Anglo voters. Data were derived from the Pima County Election Bureau, and the U.S. Bureau of the Census for Spanish-surname populations. Individual precincts served as the unit of analysis as election data were matched with corresponding demographic characteristics of census tracts. Only those representative precincts in which Chicanos were the dominant residential group and where Anglos exceeded 90% of the precinct were included in the analysis. The 1972 and 1974 school board election years were used since these years were spotlighted by a "greater concern for minority representation and minority perspectives on educational policies". Among the findings were that: in both elections the Chicano candidates secured their largest percentage of votes in Chicano precincts; the degree of Chicano preference for Chicano candidates in 1974 was more pronounced than Anglo support for Anglo candidates; the interplay of socioeconomic status, partisanship and ethnicity reaffirmed the tendency toward polarization of voters; the impact of partisanship had a diminishing effect on Anglo candidate support, yet it was a significant factor for Chicano candidates' votes. (NQ)