| Steve Mulroy | MSN |
Everyone’s talking about it. Seventeen candidates. No runoff.
The 17-candidate Memphis mayor’s race will almost certainly be won by a candidate earning less than 30% of the vote. Voters are worried that a vote split among candidates will lead to their least-preferred candidate eking out a win. Some worry about former Mayor Willie Herenton returning to office. Some Democratic voters worried about Republican-backed candidates winning in this majority-Democratic city (although the race is nonpartisan).
Local option
Local state legislators should push for a “local option” bill that repeals the RCV ban and lets each city decide for itself whether it wants RCV, runoffs, or plurality. This would respect local rule statewide—and respect Memphis referendum voters too.
If we’re casting about for solutions, could we listen to the people for once?
