Low runoff turnout sparks debate over plurality voting in Port Arthur

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — As Port Arthur voters returned to the polls Saturday to decide three City Council races, low turnout sparked a question over whether the city should continue holding runoff elections.

In the Port Arthur council race, 2,329 ballots were cast in the runoff election, representing 10.21% of the city's 22,810 registered voters in those three districts, according to Jefferson County.

Former Port Arthur City Council member Jack Chatman, who served from 2007 to 2012, believes the city should consider adopting a plurality voting system, in which the candidate receiving the most votes wins outright, rather than requiring a runoff if no candidate earns a majority.

"The top vote getter wins and we wouldn't have to because. You get a very, very small amount of people that come back out to runoff elections," Chatman said. "Port Arthur specifically right now, we have voter fatigue because we had the actual election. We had a runoff for the Precinct 2, some of the JP positions. Then we have this runoff, and you're not gonna get a lot of people that's gonna come out three times."


https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/runoff-turnout-sparks-debate-over-plurality-voting-in-port-arthur/502-a4262f0d-c898-4129-a24c-ceef56ec840f