Pensacola City charter referendum, 2009

On November 24, 2009, a mail-in referendum election was conducted in the City of Pensacola to consider adoption of a new City charter.

Ballot question

Voters were asked to vote either "Yes" or "No" on the proposed charter. The full text of the ballot question was:

Shall the City of Pensacola replace its current Charter with a completely revised Charter providing for:

• A Mayor-Council form of government, replacing a Council-Manager form of government;
• A nine-member Council with two at-large seats and seven district seats;
• Four-year staggered terms of office instead of two-year terms of office;
• Term limits of three consecutive terms;
• Recall, initiative and referendum, as described in Ordinance No. 35-09?
  
  

YES _____ for Approval

NO ______ for Rejection

Referendum process

Ballots were mailed to registered City electors in early November 2009. Return postage had been prepaid by the City of Pensacola, so voters could either return their ballot by mail or return them by hand to the Supervisor of Elections' office. Ballots were due by 7:00 PM, Tuesday, November 24

Campaign

Two political committees emerged in the referendum campaign, each advocating one side of the issue.

Results

The proposed charter was adopted, with 7,762 voting "Yes" (55.2%) and 6,308 voting "No" (44.8%).

Of Escambia County's 31 precincts which lie either wholly or partially within the City limits, votes were returned in 30 precincts. Of those, a majority voted "Yes" in 20 precincts, while "No" votes carried the remaining ten.