§ 15.02. Vote required for election in metropolitan elections; runoff elections.

In the general metropolitan election those qualified persons who receive a majority of the votes cast for mayor, vice-mayor and district councilmember for each of the thirty-five (35) districts shall be elected to their respective offices; and those five (5) qualified persons who receive the highest number of votes, being also a majority of the total vote cast for the office of councilmembers-at-large, shall be elected to such office.

In the general election if no candidate shall receive a majority of all the votes cast for the office of mayor, vice-mayor or district councilmember, a runoff election shall be held with respect to such unfilled office or offices. In the runoff election only the names of the two (2) candidates who received the highest number of votes cast for such office which failed to be filled at the general election shall be placed on the official ballot or voting machine.

In the general election if less than five (5) candidates receive a majority of the total vote cast for the office of councilmembers-at-large, the number receiving a majority shall be elected and a runoff election shall be held with respect to the unfilled offices. For the purpose of this section, "the total vote cast for the office of councilmembers-at-large" shall be deemed to be one-fifth of the aggregate number of votes received by all candidates for the office of councilmembers-at-large. In the runoff election, there shall be included on the ballot or voting machine a number of candidates which is twice the number of vacancies remaining to be filled. The candidates to be so included shall be those who in the general election received the highest vote less than a majority and the other candidates shall be eliminated. In the event of a tie vote among candidates, one (1) of whom should be in the runoff except for such tie, then all such candidates so having tie votes shall be in the runoff. In a runoff election for councilmembers-at-large it shall not be necessary to receive a majority and those candidates who have the highest vote and who equal in number those remaining to be elected shall be elected.

The runoff election, if required, shall be held on the third Thursday in May, 1966, being three (3) weeks subsequent to the general election held in that year, and, thereafter, the runoff election shall be held on the second Thursday in September, being five (5) weeks subsequent to each general election held after 1995. In the case of tie between candidates for the same office, it shall be broken as provided by Tennessee Code Annotated, section 2-8-111.

(Amended by Res. No. 65-670, § 1, 7-6-65; Res. No. 88-526, § 27, 10-4-88); amended by referendum election of November 6, 2018, Amdt. 6)

Editor's note— Section 15.02 was amended at a referendum election held November 5, 1996.