"If all 9 Councilmembers vote on my neighborhood, I want to vote on all 9 of them."

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Ronnie Collins

Alice Bell/Springhill neighborhood president

"People don't want to surrender their vote. Knoxville, join me in voting yes on city charter amendment no. 2."

Rev. Harold Middlebrook

Civil Rights Leader

On the November 5th ballot, voters will consider Charter Amendment No. 2, that restores the right of every Knoxville voter to vote for all nine members of Knoxville City Council. Charter Amendment No. 2 closely mirrors the system Knoxville voters have used for over 50 years and complies with a recently passed state law that prevents Knoxville from using the voting system it has used for decades. Knoxville's previous voting system permitted a district-only preference primary in each of the 6 geographically dispersed seats while maintaining every city voter’s right to vote for all 9 council members in the general election.

To address this, city council voted to place two referendums on the November 2024 ballot. All 6 district representatives serving on city council voted to place these amendments on the ballot. Giving Knoxville voters the opportunity to add these Amendments to the ballot was also supported by the Knoxville Chapter of the NAACP. This system will grant every Knoxvillian the freedom to vote for all 9 members of their city council while guaranteeing that a majority of council representatives live in different regions of our city.

Hear from Rev. Harold Middlebrook, civil rights icon and Knox Voter Alliance co-chair, who endorses YES on Amendment 2.

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voting yes on 2 will…

Maintain voters’ right to vote for all 9 City Council members.

Preserve a system most similar to what has been in place for over 50 years.

Ensure voters’ right to hold all City Council members accountable at the ballot box.

voting no will…

Reduce every voter to having a voice on just 4 of the 9 City Council seats.

Drastically change Knoxville’s election system from a system Knoxville voters want to keep.

Remove Knoxville voters’ ability to hold a majority of City Council accountable.

If Amendment 2 passes, candidates for City Council in the six regional at-large seats will be voted on by the entire city in both the primary and general election. Each region will have the same boundaries as the current districts, and candidates for each regional seat must live within their region’s respective boundaries. The amendment retains the at-large general election held in November — ensuring all voters have a say in who is elected to City Council.

Voting Yes on 2 will restore a voting model that most closely mirrors the election process Knoxville has used for over 50 years, which has produced:

  • The most diverse City Council in Knoxville’s history

  • Accountability of all 9 City Councilmembers for issues that impact you and your family every day.

  • Genuine community representation with local residency requirement

  • Maximum legislative power for voters

If adopted, this Charter Amendment will effectively maintain the Knoxville voters' right to vote for all 9 Council members while complying with state law.  Here's how Amendment 2 will appear on your ballot:

Creates six (6) geographically distinct regions (North, Northeast, Northwest, East, South, and West) with the same footprint as the present City Council districts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6).  Candidates for each of these regional at-large seats must reside in the region they represent.

Maintains the three (3) present city at-large seats.  Candidates for each city at-large seat can live anywhere in the city.

The voting model created by Charter Amendment No. 2, mirrors as closely as possible the election system Knoxville has enjoyed for over 50 years while coming into compliance with the new state law.

Frequently asked questions:

  • In 2023, a new state law (HB 8017) changed the City of Knoxville's election model that had functioned for over 50 years.  That election model permitted a district-only preference primary in each of the 6 geographically dispersed council seats while maintaining every city voters' freedom to vote for all nine council members.

    The change in our state law will move all city elections to a district-only system, limiting each voter to voting in 4 of 9 councilmembers. To address this, city council voted to place two referendums on the November 2024 ballot. All 6 district representatives serving on city council voted to place these amendments on the November ballot. This vote is supported by the Knoxville Chapter of the NAACP and civil rights leader Reverend Harold Middlebrook, Sr.

  • If you like Knoxville's voting model and having the freedom to vote for all 9 council representatives is important for you and your family, vote yes on Charter Amendment No. 2.

  • Though not spelled out on the ballot, a vote against Amendment 2 will install a district-only primary and general election for each of the six current district seats. In both the August primary and the November general elections, voters will only vote on only ONE district City Council seat.

    As a result, voter participation will likely decrease drastically as only one district seat — rather than six — will be on each voter's ballot when these seats are up every four years. Just a few hundred voters could decide who will have a seat on Council. Their decisions affect all 200,000 residents.

  • While it is true that Knoxville's city council elections have been relatively unique, our election model has worked for us and has produced the most diverse city council in our history. City Council is most often tasked with land use and zoning decisions. These decisions impact every voter in Knoxville and retreating to a district-only system will mean that decisions about your neighborhood will be made by a majority on City Council who are not accountable to you. This is because a district-only system will reduce every voter to just have a voice on only 4 of 9 members of council. 

  • For over 50 years, every council member has been elected in a citywide general election.  Throughout our history, some of those candidates have raised more money than others, but we have seen those with more money lose an election to those who have raised relatively little money. This is because our citywide elections have created a system where good ideas and good candidates rise to the top.  Adopting a district-only system will mean that as few as 500 voters could determine who serves on City Council.

Amendment 1:  Moves the 5th District (North Knoxville) to the same election cycle as the other council seats: Districts 1 (South Knoxville), 2 (West Knoxville), 3 (Northwest Knoxville), 4 (Northeast Knoxville), and 6 (East Knoxville). To accomplish this, there will be a two-year term for the next 5th District seat in 2027 and a four-year term in 2029. There is no change to the election cycle of the at-large seats (A, B, and C) which will continue to run in the same cycle as the Mayor and City Judge.

Amendment 2:  Restores the hybrid at-large election system Knoxville has used for over 50 years by closely mirroring the system Knoxville is accustomed to while bringing the City Charter into compliance with recent changes to state law. (Every city council member, even those serving in the 6 geographically dispersed districts, has been elected in a citywide election for over 50 years. Those elected will have to live within the footprint of the former districts. Further, the numeric districts are not very descriptive and have caused confusion, so the district numbers are replaced with geographic terms (North, Northeast, Northwest, East, South, and West) for that region’s representative.)

What does a vote “for” Amendment 1 do?

A vote for Amendment 1 will bring the 5th district into the same election cycle as the 5 other geographically dispersed council seats.

What does a vote “against” Amendment 1 do?

A vote against Amendment 1 will mean that voters in the 5th district will only vote in city elections once every 4 years, while every other geographic region in Knoxville will participate in city elections every 2 years. This is because the 5th district race is set to the same cycle as the 3 at-large council seats as well as the Mayor and City Judge races.

 

What does a vote “for” Amendment 2 do?

Passing Charter Amendment 2 will ensure every Knoxville voter can continue voting for all 9 city council members.         

A vote for Amendment 2 restores the freedom for every city voter to vote for all 9 city council representatives by adopting a familiar election system that closely mirrors the one Knoxville has used for over 50 years. It establishes 6 geographically distributed council seats where representatives must live within the boundaries of their former district. The only change is replacing the district only preference primary with a citywide primary which is required to be consistent with the new state law. The district only preference primary has not determined who ultimately serves in over 50 years, as all district seats have been elected by a citywide election since 1969. A vote for Amendment 2 is a vote for continuing to have an accountable, responsive, and diverse city council into Knoxville’s future.

 

What does a vote “against” Amendment 2 do?

A vote against Amendment 2 adopts the system imposed on Knoxville by the Tennessee State Legislature and surrenders the ability to vote for all 9 city council representatives by adopting a district-only election system. Knoxville has never had a district-only system which represents a radical departure from the system Knoxville voters are accustomed to over the past 50 years.  Voting no one Amendment 2 limits our vote to only 4 of the 9 members of city council: the voter’s specific district representative and the 3 at-large representatives on council. This district-only system will decrease accountability as all 9 members of council make decisions that impact the lives of every Knoxville resident. The sole purpose of Amendment 2 is to restore the freedom of every voter in Knoxville to be able to have a voice in all 9 members of city council.