A yes vote Nov. 3 lets a City Council candidate with a majority win in the primary. In 2025, three of five district primary leaders had one and ran again anyway.
Knoxville voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether a City Council candidate who wins a majority in the primary should be declared elected on the spot, with no second round in November.
The question is the last item on the ballot, after the governor’s race, three state constitutional amendments and the congressional and legislative races. It appears on the Knox County Election Commission’s sample ballot as the “City Charter Amendment.” The City Council put it there.
The question, word for word
The ballot asks:
“Shall Article VII, Sections 707(B) and 707(C) of the Charter of the City of Knoxville be amended to provide that if a candidate for the office of City Council receives a majority of all votes cast in the primary for the designated seat the candidate shall be declared elected without the necessity of a runoff and a certificate of election shall be issued to such candidate, all as more fully set forth in Ordinance No. O-62-2026 of the City of Knoxville as duly published?”
The ballot also prints the city chief financial officer’s cost estimate for the change. It is $0.
Voters mark one of two boxes:
- For the amendment: a council candidate who gets more than half the votes in the primary wins the seat outright.
- Against the amendment: the charter stays as it is, and council races go on to the November election as they do now.
It is a change to the city’s own charter, so it goes to voters who live in the city. A home rule charter amendment needs “a majority vote from those voting on the question,” not a majority of everyone who votes in the election, according to the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service. A voter who skips the question does not count against it.
What would have changed in 2025
The last council election shows what the change would mean in practice. The commission’s official results for the Aug. 26, 2025, city primary show the leading candidate won a majority in three of the five district races:
| District | Leader in the August primary | Share of the vote | November result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karyn Adams | 56.7% | Won, 67.1% |
| 2 | Nathan Honeycutt | 79.3% | Won, 61.5% |
| 3 | Doug Lloyd | 41.9% | Won, 52.7% |
| 4 | Matthew DeBardelaben | 55.8% | Won, 58.0% |
| 6 | Denzel Grant | 36.3% | Won, 60.6% |
All three majority winners ran again in the Nov. 4, 2025, regular election and won again, according to the commission’s official November results. Under the amendment, they would have been declared elected in August. Districts 3 and 6, where no one passed 50%, would still have gone to a November vote.
Turnout is the other side of the argument. About 9,845 voters cast ballots in the five district primaries in August 2025. The November regular election, which also carried a citywide sales tax referendum, drew 24,911, the commission’s results show. A primary win would be decided by the smaller of those two electorates.
The last time Knoxville voted on its charter
City voters last decided charter amendments in November 2024. They approved Charter Amendment No. 1 with 71.8% of the vote. They rejected No. 2 by 1,325 votes, 32,686 to 31,361, according to the commission’s official results for Nov. 5, 2024.
How many people have voted so far
Early voting runs through Thursday, Oct. 29. Through Thursday, Oct. 22, 50,534 people had voted in person across Knox County and 2,276 absentee ballots had come in, a total of 52,810, the commission’s daily turnout report shows. The commission calls those figures unofficial. Downtown West was the busiest site, with 11,203 in-person votes.
What it means for you
- If you live in the city, the charter question is the last one on your ballot. Read it before you get to the booth; it is long.
- Early voting ends Thursday, Oct. 29. Any Knox County voter can use any early voting site. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and polls are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at your own precinct.
- Bring a photo ID. Our Knox County voting guide lists the early voting sites, hours and the ID rules.
- Results will appear on the election commission’s website on election night. They are unofficial until the commission certifies them.
To reach your council member about the question, see who to call at City Hall.
Have your say