Editor, Times-Union:

The recent Georgia Senate runoff with its requirement that a U.S. Senate candidate receive a simple majority of the popular vote instead of a plurality should be implemented across all states in the Union. A U.S. senator should have the support of a majority of the residents within their state and/or a majority of the participating voters at the polling booth and not a partisan plurality of the vote. Right now, only three states in the Union have any kind of runoff in the election - Louisiana,?Georgia and Alaska with Georgia and Louisiana having a traditional run-off while Alaska is currently trying an instant run-off system. Ten states also have some type of run-off requirement in their primary elections: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Vermont.

Another alternative to the simple majority runoff would be requiring a winning candidate to receive a 45% plurality or a 40%+1 plurality. If that were to not occur in an election, a run-off would have to be done. As more state and local elections have three or four candidates or more running for the same office. There will be an increased need for run-offs and a threshold standard for achieving that office besides getting the most votes especially if a winning candidate gets only 30% to 40% of the vote while the rest of the field receives 60% to 70% of the vote.

Alexander Houze

Leesburg