Runoff Elections May Return To Hoboken

HOBOKEN, NJ — Here’s a hypothetical. A local election takes place in Hoboken. No single candidate gets a majority of the vote. Should there be a “runoff election” to decide the winner?

That question will be up to Hoboken voters to decide during next year’s General Election, thanks to a municipal ordinance passed during the Dec. 20 City Council meeting.

Z-537, sponsored by Councilman Mike DeFusco, will place a referendum on next year’s general election ballot allowing Hoboken voters to decide whether or not to return runoff elections to the city. If the referendum passes, runoffs would be held starting in 2019 in local elections where no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a situation that occurred in last November’s mayor and council races.

• See related article: Hoboken Election Results 2017 (Mayor, Council, BOE)

According to DeFusco, Hoboken held runoffs in local elections until the city moved the contests from May to November before the 2013 race and runoffs were also eliminated at that time by public referendum.

DeFusco said that a lack of runoff elections "always benefits establishment politicians."

“It’s this desire to preserve the status quo that stops young people from getting involved, and that’s why I believe reinstating runoff elections is essential to bringing new energy and new ideas to our political discourse,” he opined.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Hoboken Facebook page here.

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

File Photo: City of Hoboken