Beckley Mayoral Candidate Tony Martin agrees a change needs to be made, but says there is no solid evidence that the plan proposed on Tuesday by city leaders will increase voter turnout.
City officials are proposing to eliminate the city's March primary election. Everyone intending to run for office would then be placed on the ballot in a single nonpartisan election in May. City officials state that there would be no runoff election, so someone could conceivably win with less than 50% of the vote. Beckley leaders say they have two objectives to achieve with this new proposal; increase voter turnout and save the city money on election cost.
Mr. Martin says, “If the city really wants to make a move to increase voter turn out, they should explore an option the has been proven successful in both increasing voter turnout and saving money.” Under Mr. Martin's proposal, the city elections would be moved to coincide with mid-term congressional elections every 4 years, thereby saving city money by allowing election cost to be split with the county while all but guaranteeing increased voter turnout.
You can find more information on Mr. Martin's plan on his website www.newbeckley.com.
