Memphis voters decide 3 charter changes: civil service for library workers, a lobbyist registry and a new appeals process. The exact ballot wording, explained.
Memphis voters will decide three changes to the city charter on the Nov. 3 ballot. Early voting is already underway and runs through Thursday, Oct. 29.
The three questions sit at the end of the official sample ballot (PDF) published by the Shelby County Election Commission. Only voters who live in the city of Memphis see them. Each one is answered “For the Amendment” or “Against the Amendment.”
The charter is the city’s founding document. The City Council cannot change it alone, so each change it approves has to go to voters.
The three questions
| Ordinance | What it would do | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| No. 5966 | Give employees of the Memphis and Shelby County Public Library civil service status | Council member JB Smiley Jr. and nine co-sponsors |
| No. 5977 | Require the council to set up a lobbyist registration and disclosure process | Council member Chase Carlisle |
| No. 5978 | Let the council, with the mayor, set uniform procedures for civil service appeals | Council member Chase Carlisle |
No. 5966: library workers and civil service
This question asks whether to rewrite Article 34, Section 250 of the charter. That section lists the city jobs left out of civil service, the merit system that governs hiring, discipline and firing for most city workers.
The ballot prints the full new section. It still exempts elected officials, Board of Education members and employees, MLGW board members and employees, division directors, the legal department, staff in the offices of the mayor and chief administrative officer, City Council office employees and “all officers” of the library.
The council’s title for the ordinance says what changes. It amends “the classification of employees of the Memphis and Shelby County Public Library to allow civil service status,” according to the council’s Feb. 3 agenda (PDF).
The new text also keeps a catch-all. The mayor, with the council’s agreement, can exempt other positions. That clause “shall not allow removal of civil service protection from any employee whose position at that time is covered,” the ballot says.
The council passed the ordinance on third and final reading Feb. 24. The vote was 10-1, with council member Chase Carlisle voting no and two members not voting, according to the council’s Feb. 24 minutes (PDF).
No. 5977: a lobbyist registry
Carlisle sponsored this question and the next one. Both were up for third and final reading at the council’s July 21 meeting, according to its agenda (PDF).
The ballot asks whether the charter should “require the Memphis City Council, by ordinance, to create a lobbyist registration and disclosure process to ensure transparency and accountability.”
A yes vote does not create the registry itself. It would require the council to write one by ordinance later. The ballot does not say who would count as a lobbyist or what they would have to disclose.
No. 5978: civil service appeals
The third question asks whether the council, “in consultation with the Mayor,” may set “uniform and comprehensive administrative procedures” by ordinance for appeals that “may affect the employment status of a civil service employee.”
Those procedures would include how appeal boards, commissions and hearing panels are made up. The ballot says they would include “persons trained or experienced in labor and benefits matters.”
What each costs
Nothing, according to the city. Each question carries the same certification from Finance Director Walter Person: the amendment “shall have no impact on the annual revenues and expenditures of the City.”
Early voting is running ahead of 2022
Turnout in the first three days was nearly double the 2022 midterm. The commission’s daily early voting report (PDF) counts 33,205 ballots cast countywide from Wednesday, Oct. 14, through Friday, Oct. 16. That includes 502 mail-in absentee ballots. At the same point in 2022, the count was 17,784.
| Day | 2026 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 11,035 | 6,296 |
| Day 2 | 11,021 | 5,579 |
| Day 3 | 11,149 | 5,909 |
| Total | 33,205 | 17,784 |
The figures cover all of Shelby County, not only Memphis.
Also on the ballot
Every Shelby County voter also sees three proposed amendments to the Tennessee Constitution. According to the ballot’s own summaries, they would:
- let a court hold some defendants without bail before trial, including people accused of second degree murder, terrorism or aggravated rape
- bar the Legislature from levying a state property tax
- add new rights for crime victims, including being told an offender’s scheduled release date
What it means for you
- Vote early through Thursday, Oct. 29, at any of the county’s early voting sites. Most are open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Sites are closed Sundays.
- Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, at your assigned polling place.
- Bring a photo ID.
- Read the questions before you go. The charter questions come last on a long ballot. The full wording is on page 2 of the sample ballot (PDF).
Our voting guide lists every early voting site in Memphis, the hours and the absentee deadline. The Shelby County Election Commission answers questions at 901-222-1200.
This story is factual. Memphis News Now does not take positions on ballot questions.
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