When Nashville Votes For Mayors, There’s Often A Runoff — Here’s Why

As Nashville chooses a mayor to hold the office for the next 15 months, voter turnout is on pace to be especially low compared to prior contests. And, as is often the case, a runoff is possible — meaning voters could be asked to go to the polls one more time, next month.

Runoffs are common in Nashville for two simple reasons. For one, winning is not only a matter of getting the most votes — to win, a candidate must earn more than 50 percent of vote. (A runoff does not mean that two candidates tied, just that no one candidate broke the 50 percent threshold.)

Reaching that share can be tough when there are multiple viable candidates who split the vote. There were seven candidates when Megan Barry won in 2015, and there are 13 on the ballot this month.

The Davidson County Election Commission keeps some historical election results readily accessible online. Detailed results since 2008
are available here, and more simple figures dating back to 1951 — only about registered voters and total turnout —
are online here.

If needed for the mayor’s race or Metro Council District 1, the runoff would follow next month. Early voting would run from June 8 to 23, with Election Day on June 28.