May a city use at-large elections when it uses the partisan election method?

G.S. 160A-101(6)a. states that in an at-large election, "all the qualified voters of the city" have a right to nominate candidates; and in a partisan election, only members of a particular party may vote in that party's primary.
 
A city with partisan elections may elect all council members on an at-large basis. When the statute refers to "all the qualified voters of the city," it is speaking in terms of residence. That is, a registered voter may participate in an at-large partisan primary regardless of where he or she lives within the city.