KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Knoxville City Council elections are changing and this November you can have a say on how it’s done.
After a Tennessee law passed last year making our current voting system illegal, city council has presented a new citywide, or at-large, voting system that will appear on our ballots . However, some community members are pushing back against ballot question number 2.
Knoxville voters to decide in November if city council should be at-large
“There are better ways for our democracy to work, there are better ways in my opinion to get power into the hands of people in their communities, so they can have control of their communities,” Councilwoman Amelia Parker.
In an 8-to-1 vote, city council chose to present an at-large for all system before voters this November. If it is approved, it would let voters cast ballots in primary and general elections for all city council seats. If the at-large system is not approved, voters would only be able to elect the city council representative in their district for both the primary and general elections.