10/16/2024
City of Memphis Referendum Breakdown:
1. Shall the Charter of the City of Memphis be amended to provide that the majority run-off provision in the City's Charter, Referendum Ordinance No.1794, shall apply to any election for the office of Mayor.
The City’s Charter currently requires that in City elections, if no candidate gets a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff election in four weeks. The candidate who gets the majority of votes in the runoff election wins. Ordinance No. 5884 would specify that this stipulation also applies to the race for City Mayor (the standing Ordinance is not applied to mayoral races).
A vote FOR the Amendment would mean that mayoral races with no majority winner would go to a runoff; a vote AGAINST it would mean they will not.
2. Shall the City of Memphis Charter be amended to authorize the City Council by ordinance to fix and determine the salaries of the Mayor, City Council, Chief Administrative Officer, and Appointed Directors and Deputy Directors?
This Referendum Ordinance would allow the Council to pass an Ordinance fixing the salaries of the above listed posts. The Council currently sets by Ordinance the salaries of the Mayor, Chief Administrative Officer and Appointed Directors. This Ordinance would allow the Council to also set salaries for its members.
A vote FOR the Amendment would mean that the Council would be authorized to set by Ordinance the salaries of the Mayor, City Council, Chief Administrative Officer, and Appointed Directors and Deputy Directors. A vote AGAINST the Amendment would keep the current system.
3. Shall the Charter of the City of Memphis be amended to read:
A. No person shall be eligible for the office of Mayor who is not at least eighteen (18) years of age, and who has not been a bona fide resident of the City of Memphis for at least two (2) years preceding the date of the municipal election for Mayor, or who at the time of his election and qualification holds any other office, or who is directly or indirectly interested in any contract with the City.
B. No person shall be eligible for any office of the City Council who is not at least eighteen (18) years of age, and who has not been a bona fide resident of the City of Memphis for at least two years preceding the date of the municipal election.
C. All existing provisions of the Charter that establish qualifications for the Mayor are hereby expressly repealed?
This Ordinance would require that candidates for both Mayor and City Council seats be at least 18 years old and must have been a resident of the City of Memphis for at least two years before the date of the election in which they are running. The standing Ordinance requires that mayoral candidates be at least 30 years old (there is no age requirement for Council members), and that both mayoral and Council candidates must have been a city resident for at least five years before the election.
A vote FOR the Amendment would mean that candidates for Memphis Mayor and City Council would have to be at least 18 years old and must have been a resident of the City of Memphis for at least two years before the date of the election. A vote AGAINST the amendment would keep the current requirements for Mayor and Council seats.
4. Ordinance 5908 is not restated due to length. However, it provides that:
A. No one would be allowed to carry a handgun in the City of Memphis, nor to carry, store, or travel with a handgun in a vehicle in the city without possessing a valid handgun permit. It also would require that no one would be allowed to store a firearm or ammunition within a motor vehicle or boat while the firearm/ ammunition owner is not in the vehicle, unless the firearm or ammunition is out of sight and locked in the trunk, utility or glove box, or a locked container securely attached to the motor vehicle or boat.
B. It would be illegal to possess or carry any assault rifles in the City of Memphis. Persons with valid handgun permits would be exempt from this prohibition while on their own property or at a shooting range. It also would be illegal to commercially sell assault rifles within the City of Memphis, with the exception of sales to law enforcement, military and government agencies.
A vote FOR the Amendment would enact the above requirements and prohibitions only if the Tennessee General Assembly passes legislation permitting the City to enact them. A vote AGAINST the Amendment would show that the voter is against enacting such requirements and prohibitions, whether the State enables the City to enact them or not.
C. Courts would be allowed to issue “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” against individuals based on evidence provided by petitioners such as law enforcement officers, doctors, school personnel, or relatives that the individual’s possession or receipt of a firearm would pose a significant danger or extreme risk of personal injury or death to the individual or another person. The orders, which could be issued either on an emergency basis or after a hearing, would allow law enforcement to search the individual’s person and property and seize any fi****ms found. For both emergency and non-emergency orders, a hearing would be required within a maximum of three days on returning the firearm to the individual.
A vote FOR the Amendment would allow courts to issue Extreme Risk Protection Orders only if the Tennessee General Assembly enacts legislation permitting the issuance of such orders. A vote AGAINST the Amendment would show that the voter is against authorizing courts to issue such orders, whether the State enacts authorizing legislation or not.
