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Charter amendments on the November ballot, and ranked-choice voting

Council voted on July 20, 2026 to put five Charter amendments before voters, drawn from the Charter Review Commission's recommendations. minutes p. 3 minutes p. 2 Two versions of a ranked-choice voting amendment were introduced, but the records we found show no final vote on either. minutes p. 3

Issue pages: ORD 16-2026 ORD 17-2026 ORD 18-2026 ORD 19-2026 ORD 20-2026 ORD 21-2026 ORD 27-2026

What was decided

July 20, 2026: Council adopted S. Ordinances 16-2026, 17-2026, 18-2026, 19-2026 and 20-2026, each with six votes in favor and Councilmember Hamilton Steiner abstaining. minutes p. 3 minutes p. 4

President Kepple said Councilmember Hamilton Steiner abstained because she took part in the Charter Review Commission. minutes p. 3

The five amendments cover: how often the Civil Service Commission reviews elected officials' salaries; the process for filling a Council vacancy; how legislation is amended; ward redistricting; and the ways the Charter can be amended. ord. 16 ord. 17 ord. 18 ord. 19 ord. 20

On July 6, President Kepple said the substitute for Ordinance 16-2026 reinstates language capping increases in elected officials' salaries at 10%. minutes p. 3

What's still pending

Ordinance 21-2026 and Ordinance 27-2026 would each put to voters an amendment giving Council the option of implementing ranked-choice voting. ord. 21 p. 13 ord. 27 p. 21

May 18, 2026: Council deferred Ordinance 27-2026; President Kepple called this procedural, to keep it on the same reading schedule as the other Charter amendments. minutes p. 3 ▶ 0:38:51

The records we found show no adoption vote on either ranked-choice ordinance. issue page issue page

What the documents say the reasons are

President Kepple said the proposed amendments arose from recommendations the Charter Review Commission submitted in 2024. minutes p. 2

Vice President Baker said reviewing the recommendations before the November election would allow time to inform residents. minutes p. 8

President Kepple said Ordinance 17-2026 writes into the Charter the current practice of calling for public applications to fill a Council vacancy. minutes p. 3

She said Ordinance 18-2026 adds red-lining so voters can see more clearly how legislation is being changed. minutes p. 4

Ordinance 16-2026 cites a Sept. 4, 2026 deadline for submitting Charter amendments to the County Board of Elections. ord. 16

The debate

May 4, 2026: President Kepple said the ranked-choice version already in committee was written before Ohio Senate Bill 63, which generally prohibits ranked-choice voting. minutes p. 5 ▶ 0:33:27

She said the committee version would let voters decide whether to adopt ranked-choice voting, while Ordinance 27-2026 would let voters decide whether Council could adopt it. minutes p. 5

Councilmember Bullock recommended caution in reforming existing practices and raised the possibility of conflict with SB 63. minutes p. 5

President Kepple noted that Council is not obligated to adopt any Charter Review recommendation. minutes p. 5

What residents can do

Read the League of Women Voters' explainer on the proposed amendments. Observer

Vote on the amendments in the November election, as President Kepple described in the Observer. Observer

Not in the public record we found

The Council records we pulled do not include the final ballot issue numbers or ballot language for the amendments. issue page

Every meeting where it came up

  1. Jul 20, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: how often elected officials' salaries are reviewed. Outcome: Adopted. minutes ▶ 0:33:52 Meeting recap →
  2. Jul 20, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: process for filling Council vacancies. Outcome: Adopted. minutes ▶ 0:35:02 Meeting recap →
  3. Jul 20, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: simpler way to amend ordinances. Outcome: Adopted. minutes ▶ 0:35:42 Meeting recap →
  4. Jul 20, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: ward redistricting process. Outcome: Adopted. minutes ▶ 0:36:21 Meeting recap →
  5. Jul 20, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: clarifying how the Charter can be amended. Outcome: Adopted. minutes ▶ 0:36:52 Meeting recap →
  6. Jul 6, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: how often elected officials' salaries are reviewed. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:09:49 Meeting recap →
  7. Jul 6, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: process for filling Council vacancies. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:14:39 Meeting recap →
  8. Jul 6, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: simpler way to amend ordinances. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:15:28 Meeting recap →
  9. Jul 6, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: ward redistricting process. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:16:08 Meeting recap →
  10. Jul 6, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: clarifying how the Charter can be amended. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:16:45 Meeting recap →
  11. Jun 15, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple introducing proposed Charter amendments. minutes ▶ 0:03:16 Meeting recap →
  12. Jun 15, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: how often elected officials' salaries are reviewed. minutes ▶ 0:03:16 Meeting recap →
  13. Jun 15, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: process for filling Council vacancies. minutes ▶ 0:03:16 Meeting recap →
  14. Jun 15, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: ward redistricting process. minutes ▶ 0:03:16 Meeting recap →
  15. Jun 15, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: option for ranked choice voting. minutes ▶ 0:03:16 Meeting recap →
  16. Jun 15, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding Charter Amendments Connected to Ranked Choice Voting. minutes ▶ 0:03:16 Meeting recap →
  17. May 18, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: option for ranked choice voting. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:38:51 Meeting recap →
  18. May 18, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple introducing proposed Charter amendments. minutes Meeting recap →
  19. May 18, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: how often elected officials' salaries are reviewed. minutes ▶ 0:01:09 Meeting recap →
  20. May 18, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: process for filling Council vacancies. minutes ▶ 0:01:09 Meeting recap →
  21. May 18, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: ward redistricting process. minutes ▶ 0:01:09 Meeting recap →
  22. May 18, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: option for ranked choice voting. minutes ▶ 0:01:09 Meeting recap →
  23. May 18, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding Charter Amendments Connected to Ranked Choice Voting. minutes Meeting recap →
  24. May 4, 2026. City Council: Kepple explains how three charter amendment topics connect. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 0:24:16 Meeting recap →
  25. May 4, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: option for ranked choice voting. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 0:33:27 Meeting recap →
  26. Mar 16, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: how often elected officials' salaries are reviewed. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 1:16:47 Meeting recap →
  27. Mar 16, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: process for filling Council vacancies. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 1:17:02 Meeting recap →
  28. Mar 16, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: simpler way to amend ordinances. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 1:17:18 Meeting recap →
  29. Mar 16, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: ward redistricting process. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 1:17:36 Meeting recap →
  30. Mar 16, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: clarifying how the Charter can be amended. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 1:17:53 Meeting recap →
  31. Mar 16, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: option for ranked choice voting. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 1:18:08 Meeting recap →
  32. Mar 16, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: how often elected officials' salaries are reviewed. minutes ▶ 0:34:37 Meeting recap →
  33. Mar 16, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: process for filling Council vacancies. minutes ▶ 0:34:37 Meeting recap →
  34. Mar 16, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: simpler way to amend ordinances. minutes ▶ 0:34:37 Meeting recap →
  35. Mar 16, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: ward redistricting process. minutes ▶ 0:34:37 Meeting recap →
  36. Mar 16, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Ballot question: clarifying how the Charter can be amended. minutes ▶ 0:34:37 Meeting recap →
  37. Mar 2, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: how often elected officials' salaries are reviewed. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:29:11 Meeting recap →
  38. Mar 2, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: process for filling Council vacancies. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:29:27 Meeting recap →
  39. Mar 2, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: simpler way to amend ordinances. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:29:41 Meeting recap →
  40. Mar 2, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: ward redistricting process. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:30:00 Meeting recap →
  41. Mar 2, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: clarifying how the Charter can be amended. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:30:17 Meeting recap →
  42. Mar 2, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: option for ranked choice voting. Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:30:34 Meeting recap →
  43. Feb 17, 2026. City Council: Kepple introduces charter amendments. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 0:53:03 Meeting recap →
  44. Feb 17, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: how often elected officials' salaries are reviewed. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 1:01:16 Meeting recap →
  45. Feb 17, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: simpler way to amend ordinances. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 1:01:50 Meeting recap →
  46. Feb 17, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: ward redistricting process. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 1:02:10 Meeting recap →
  47. Feb 17, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: clarifying how the Charter can be amended. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 1:02:25 Meeting recap →
  48. Feb 17, 2026. City Council: Ballot question: option for ranked choice voting. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 1:02:41 Meeting recap →

News coverage

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