Following the Sept. 10 mayoral primary’s historically low voter turnout, the Charter Committee, Cincinnati’s unofficial third political party, is supporting efforts to reform how the city elects its mayors.
“It is absurd that taxpayers paid $400,000 for a primary yesterday that few people voted in, and that decided very little,” said Mike Goldman, convener of the Charter Committee, in a statement.
Voter turnout for the Sept. 10 mayoral primary was a dismal 5.68 percent. In comparison, turnout was at 15 percent for the primary held on Sept. 11, 2001 — the day of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon — and 21 percent for the 2005 primary.
The primary’s results also went exactly as most election watchers expected: Ex-Councilman John Cranley and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls
overwhelmingly won
, allowing them to move on to a direct face-off in the general election.
Prior to the Charter Committee’s announcement, WVXU
reported
on a proposal from City Council candidate David Mann, who was endorsed by the Charter Committee and Democratic Party, that would place all eligible mayoral candidates on the ballot in the general election and give the job to whoever gets more than 50 percent of the vote. If no one received majority support, a runoff would ensue between the top two finishers two weeks later.
But the Charter Committee is unsure if Mann’s proposal would work. Charter Committee spokesperson Sean Comer says it would have to study the issue and make a final proposal after hearing opinions from a much larger group of experts. Until then, the Charter Committee isn’t giving specifics.
Under the current system, voters select from all eligible mayoral candidates during a September primary. The two winners then move on to the November ballot for a one-on-one election.
Comer says the Charter Committee is working on broad reforms for Cincinnati’s charter, and the mayoral primary system will be part of the final suggestions.
This article appears in Sep 11-17, 2013.