Ann Arbor voters are being asked this fall if they want to move to non-partisan municipal elections. Proposal C would also eliminate the city primary.
John Godfrey is with the Coalition for Ann Arbor’s Future that spearheaded the ballot initiative. He says with Ann Arbor so heavily Democratic, city council and mayoral elections are decided during the low turnout primary.
“It happens in early August when many Ann Arbor residents are out of town and absolutely no students are available to vote. The primary just hasn’t worked.”
In recent years, the City Council has voted to put the question to voters twice, but it was vetoed by Mayor Christopher Taylor. He says eliminating the primary would reduce information and transparency for voters.
“Folks recognize that school board style, November free-for-alls create circumstances where there is very low information where candidates can be elected without a majority.”
Taylor says he would support ranked choice voting, but it’s not allowed in the state. Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti remain as the two of the few cities in Michigan with partisan city elections.
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