Council amends ballot language to seek four-year council terms; moves question to Nov. 3, 2026

Marion City Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution amending an earlier referral so the question of switching council and council-president terms to four years will appear on the Nov. 3, 2026 general-election ballot.

The law director told the council the changes respond to a request from the board of elections to clarify three points: the intended election date (Nov. 3, 2026), the split of seats in the initial implementation cycle (changed in the draft to 60% in the first cycle and 40% in the second), and a correction of an internal citation that previously misidentified a resolution as an ordinance. The law director asked council to suspend the rules so staff could forward the corrected language to the board of elections ahead of filing deadlines.

Council voted to suspend committee consideration and the three-reading rule and then adopted the amendment by unanimous vote. Council members said the revisions were largely technical clarifications recommended by elections staff and moved the matter forward so it can be placed on the ballot for voter consideration.

The vote advances the question for voters; it does not itself change council terms. If approved by Marion City voters in November, the ordinance implementing the new term structure would require additional council action to enact specific seat-by-seat timing, as explained by the law director during the meeting.

Council adjourned without taking further action on the topic at Tuesday's meeting.