City Council Resolution No. 36198 refers the following measure to qualified voters at the May 18, 2004 Primary.

 

Caption: Amends Charter: Candidates Receiving Majority Vote at Primary are Elected.

Question: Shall Charter provide that candidates who receive majority vote in Primary Election are elected without further vote at General Election?

Summary: Presently, the Portland City Charter provides that all candidates for City office must be elected at a General Election. Therefore, even when a candidate receives a majority of votes cast at a Primary Election, that candidate appears as the sole candidate on the General Election ballot. The proposed measure will amend the Charter to provide that if a candidate receives a majority of votes cast for an office at the Primary Election, that candidate is elected to that office for the term beginning the following January. As a result, the candidate would not have to appear on the General Election ballot. If no candidate receives a majority of votes cast for the office at the Primary Election, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall appear on the General Election ballot.