City of Knoxville voters beginning with Early Voting on Wednesday October 16 through October 31 and/or Election Day Tuesday November 5, you will have two questions at the bottom of your ballot. The questions below as they will appear on your ballot. Check the actual Sample Ballot here.
City of Knoxville
City Charter Amendment No. 1
CHARTER AMENDMENT
SUBMITTED BY THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE
PERTAINING TO THE ELECTION OF
CITY COUNCIL:
SHALL ARTICLE IV, SECTION 404 OF
THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF
KNOXVILLE, ENTITLED “SAME –
TERMS OF OFFICE [OF COUNCILMEMBERS]” BE AMENDED TO
ALIGN THE FIFTH COUNCIL
DISTRICT WITH THE OTHER
DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS BY
SERVING A TWO YEAR TERM
BEGINNING ON DECEMBER 18,
2027 AND ENDING ON DECEMBER
15, 2029 AND THEREAFTER SERVE
FOR FOUR YEAR TERMS, ALL AS
MORE FULLY SET FORTH IN
ORDINANCE No. O-97-2024 OF
THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE AS DULY
PUBLISHED?
The Chief Financial Officer’s cost
estimate of the proposed charter
amendment is $0.
City Charter Amendment No. 2
CHARTER AMENDMENT
SUBMITTED BY THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE
PERTAINING TO THE ELECTION OF
CITY COUNCIL:
SHALL ARTICLE IV, SECTIONS 401
AND 402, AND ARTICLE VII,
SECTIONS 704 AND 707 OF THE
CHARTER OF THE CITY OF
KNOXVILLE BE AMENDED TO ELECT
SIX (6) REGIONAL AT LARGE
COUNCILMEMBERS USING
REGIONAL RESIDENCY AS A
QUALIFICATION FOR REGIONAL
CANDIDATES AND THREE (3)
CITYWIDE AT LARGE
COUNCILMEMBERS AND SETTING
A PROCESS FOR PRIMARY AND
REGULAR ELECTIONS OF COUNCIL
MEMBERS CONSISTENT WITH
PUBLIC CHAPTER 391, ACTS OF
2023, ALL AS MORE FULLY SET
FORTH IN ORDINANCE No.
O-98-2024 OF THE CITY OF
KNOXVILLE AS DULY PUBLISHED?
The Chief Financial Officer’s cost
estimate of the proposed charter
amendment is $0
Amendment #1 will make the District 5 Council position to be elected at the same time as District 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. It has been elected with the three at Large positions. You vote for it, no harm, no foul necessarily.
Amendment #2 will circumvent the requirement of a 2023 Tennessee state law. If #2 is passed it will revert the City of Knoxville elections to the way it was in 1967 (this author was a one year old).
City Council Movement along with nearly all Republicans (that I have talked to) are together in encouraging all City of Knoxville voters to VOTE NO! I do not know that City Council Movement along with Conservative Republicans have been together on one or any issue before. Check the information on Vote NO on #2 by CCM, here.
If for some odd reason it passes and it shouldn’t. It still may not take effect. As the State of Tennessee Attorney General has not officially opined on the Councils end run around state law and the Constitutionality of it. In order to avoid the legal process of the State Attorney General, just VOTE it DOWN. VOTE NO on 2.
