While the May 6th local election is still more than a month away, with such a crowded city ballot, there is a good chance we will see at least one race head to a runoff this year. With this in mind, as well as the fact that it has been nearly a decade since a city race went to a runoff, now is a great time to brush up on how city runoff elections work.

According to the Amarillo City Charter, Article V, Section 5, to be elected to Mayor of Amarillo or Amarillo City Council, a candidate needs to earn a majority of votes in the election. According to the charter, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be called:

“Should any candidate fail to receive a majority of the votes at the regular election for the office for which he is a candidate, the Council shall immediately order a special election in accordance with applicable state law, at which special election the names only of the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes at the regular election, for the office for which they were candidates shall be printed on the ballot and submitted to the registered voters within the city for election, and the candidate receiving the majority of votes at such special election for the place of office for which he was a candidate, shall be declared duly elected.”
-Charter of The City of Amarillo, Article V, Section 5(c)

In a resolution passed by the city last month officially ordering the May 6th election, the date for a runoff election, if needed, was set as June 24th. If a runoff election is needed, it will be officially ordered on the day the election is canvassed, which is expected to be on Tuesday, May 16th. (For races not requiring a runoff, the winner will assume office on the day the election is canvassed.)

The most recent runoff election in an election for city office in Amarillo was in 2015 when Mark Nair and Steve Rogers faced each other in a runoff for City Council Place 4 after neither earned a majority in the four-way race. In the first round, Nair had received 46.93% of the vote, while Rogers had received 26.87%. In the runoff, Nair received a majority of 73.15% of the vote.

There have been a total of 20 runoff elections held for city office since the adoption of the 1913 charter.

As for the elections for Amarillo ISD Board, Canyon ISD Board, and Amarillo College Board, no runoffs will be held. Amarillo ISD and Amarillo College both use cumulative voting. Cayon ISD does not use cumulative voting, but only a plurality, not a majority, is required to win.