Central Idaho Times

Lewiston city issued the following announcement on April 6.

In the state of Idaho, City Council members may be elected either at large, by seats, or by districts. Lewiston City Code currently reflects the at-large system and the City Council wants to know if the voters would like to see this system continue or change.Do you prefer to elect your city council at-large, by assigned seats, or by districts? *

At-large

Assigned Seats

Districts

Before you answer the question above, please review the following information:

At-large (Idaho Code 50-412): The three candidates with the most votes get elected. (Current system for the City of Lewiston.)

Seats (Idaho Code 50-707): Council seats would be numbered 1-6. A candidate seeking election must file for 1 of the assigned Council seats. For example, if seats 1, 2, and 3 are up for election/re-election, a candidate must choose which seat he or she wants to run for. For example, if Councilor Jones, Councilor Davis, and Councilor Smith are running for re-election. Jones might have two people challenging him, Davis might have three challengers, and Smith might not have any challengers. In this case, Smith would be re-elected, but Jones and Davis would have to win against their opponents; otherwise, the candidates for each seat with the most votes would replace Jones or Davis. If none are running for re-election, then candidates can choose what seat to file for. The seat they choose might depend on what seats other candidates have chosen to run for. They might want to look for the seat with the least number of candidates, or candidates against which they think they can prevail.

Districts (Idaho Code 50-707A): Lewiston would have six districts (because it has six Councilors). Each district must, to the nearest extent possible, contain the same number of people based on the most recent federal decennial census. Candidates must live in a district to run to be the Councilor for that district. Only people living in the district may vote for the candidates running from their district. The candidate from each district with the most votes wins the council seat for that district.

Majority Vote (Idaho Code 50-707B): If the election is by seats or districts, then the City Council could (by ordinance) require that a majority of the votes for any candidate running for council seat or district shall be required to be elected to the office. If no one receives a majority vote, then there would be a runoff election between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes. 

Original source can be found here.