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Thursday, July 14, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS

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Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327

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LARA MOEHLMAN

Editor in Chief

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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is 
published every Thursday during the 
spring and summer terms by students 
at the University of Michigan. One copy 
is available free of charge to all readers. 
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SUMMER LOVIN

City Council votes 
to put election reform 
on November ballot

Ann Arbor residents 
will vote on proposal 

to extend city 

council term limits

By BRIAN KUANG

Summer Daily News Editor

In 
November, 
Ann 
Arbor 

residents will vote on a ballot 
measure that would extend the 
terms of city councilmembers and 
the mayor to four years — with the 
goal of boosting voter turnout in 
local elections — following a 7-4 
vote by City Council Wednesday 
evening.

However, a parallel resolution 

seeking to overhaul municipal 
elections 
into 
non-partisan 

blanket primaries — where party 
identification would not be listed 
for candidates — failed in a 7-4 
vote.

The 
two 
resolutions 
were 

introduced 
for 
debate 
by 

Council with the intention of 

comprehensively reforming 
local 
elections 
to 
boost 

sagging voter turnout.

Currently, the mayor and 

each 
city 
councilmember 

must run for re-election every 
two years, with five council 
seats up for election in any 
given year. Because there are 
no high-profile, top-ballot 
races — such as presidential 
or congressional campaigns 
— in odd-numbered years, 
voter 
turnout 
in 
August 

primary elections are often 
half of even-year numbers, 
and 
odd-year 
November 

turnout can be as low as one 
quarter of the corresponding 
even-year.

By extending terms of office 

for city councilmembers and the 
mayor, half of council would be 
up for re-election every two years 
during a high-profile general 
election that would drive turnout 
for down-ticket races.

Furthermore, many municipal 

races 
are 
not 
meaningfully 

contested in November due to 

Ann Arbor’s partisan election 
system, which is only used by two 
other cities in Michigan.

To be on the November ballot, 

candidates for city office must win 
either the statewide Republican 
or Democratic primary election 
in 
August, 
unless 
they 
are 

independent. 
However, 
given 

the demographic makeup of Ann 
Arbor, no candidate has sought 
election to municipal office as 

a Republican in Ann Arbor for 
over a decade, meaning many 
races are simply uncontested in 
November. City Councilmember 
Jane Lumm (I–Ward 2) remains 
the sole non-Democrat on City 
Council.

If a non-partisan election 

were to be adopted, then the top 
two receivers of votes in each 
August primary race would 
be guaranteed to advance to 
the November ballot, even if 
it would mean two Democrats 
would face against each other.

Councilmember 
Sumi 

Kailasapathy 
(D–Ward 
1) 

supported putting the non-
partisan election proposal to the 
November ballot, saying party 
labels in municipal elections 
often 
project 
inaccurate 

impressions 
of 
individual 

candidates to voters.

However, 
other 

councilmembers, 
including 

Mayor 
Christopher 
Taylor, 

argued 
party 
labels 
still 

played an important role in 
informing voters on the values 
of 
candidates. 
Furthermore, 

Taylor said the lack of viability 

for Republican candidates in Ann 
Arbor is due to the ideological 
makeup of the city and not a 
result of any flaw in the city’s 
election system.

The 
extended-term 
ballot 

proposal was approved 7-4 with 
Councilmembers Lumm, Eaton, 
Kailasapathy 
and 
Graydon 

Krapohl 
(D–Ward 
4) 
voting 

against, 
while 
the 
parallel 

resolution seeking to overhaul 
municipal elections into non-
partisan blanket primaries failed 
7-4 with only Councilmembers 
Kirk 
Westphal 
(D–Ward 
2), 

Lumm, Chuck Warpehoski (D–
Ward 5) and Kailasapathy voting 
in favor.

Regarding 
term 
limits, 

Councilmember 
Sabra 
Briere 

(D–Ward 1) argued that even-
year elections would not only 
exclusively 
improve 
voter 

turnout, 
but 
longer 
terms 

increase continuity of leadership 
and allow councilmembers to 
pursue longer-term agendas.

Councilmember 
Jack 
Eaton 

(D–Ward 4) countered Briere’s 
point, saying that more frequent 
elections for city office would 
force councilmembers to be more 
accountable to their constituents 
and engage the public more 
frequently. Eaton also argued that 
even though turnout is higher in 
even-year elections, many voters 
in those elections simply vote 
along party lines without fully 
understanding city issues, while 
voters in lower-turnout odd-
years would be better engaged in 
local issues.

