St. Louis voters approve nonpartisan elections

ST. LOUIS -- Starting with the primary election in March, St. Louis voters will pick their mayor and other elected officials on a nonpartisan basis.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported city voters on Tuesday approved a measure requiring nonpartisan elections for mayor, comptroller, aldermanic president and alderman. The measure passed with nearly 70% approval.

Under the new system, the top two vote-getters in the March primary will face each other in the general election in April. The measure also allows residents to vote for as many primary candidates as they want.

Supporters said the new system ensures the ultimate winners have a broad base of support.

St. Louis is overwhelmingly Democratic, so up until now, the winner of the March primary has almost always won the general election a month later.