St. Louis Public Radio: “How Prop D Would Change St. Louis Municipal Elections”

'“In the city of St. Louis, primary elections frequently have bigger consequences than general ones. But one item St. Louis voters will see on their Nov. 3 ballots could change that pattern in a big way: Proposition D.

If Prop D passes this fall, the city would implement an open primary system. Under it, voters could choose any and all candidates they approve of for a given office. Then, in the general election, the top two vote-getters for that office would compete in a runoff.

On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, St. Louis Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler, who is also the outgoing chair of the city’s Democratic Central Committee, joined host Sarah Fenske to talk about it.

‘It’s a simple thing that would be a really big change, and I would say a cool thing as a big change [that] would also tend to have better results for African American and forward-thinking politicians,’ Butler said, ‘folks who are progressives or folks who are more focused on the issues.’

He sees Prop D as potentially removing ‘the party part’ from the municipal election process — in a good way.

‘We have what is known as really one of the worst possible systems of election,” he said. “A partisan primary, again with a general partisan election, in a municipal election, doesn't really allow you to vote on the issues but more on the team that you’re on.’

Butler emphasized the fact that many other municipalities around the U.S. have adopted nonpartisan approaches to key local races.

‘Joplin has a nonpartisan mayoral election. Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Kansas City, San Francisco, St. Paul, Minnesota — plenty of other places have nonpartisan mayoral elections, and their results tend to be better rooted for the general public and for people than the ones we have here in St. Louis.’”

Read the full story on its original platform here.