Atlanta Mayoral Race - two voting systems two winners

Mary Norwood has officially conceded the Atlanta mayoral race after runoff with Kasim Reed. Norwood won a majority of the vote after the general election, and the outcome was in order:


Norwood - 43%

Reed - 38%

Borders - 19%



But because Atlanta uses a majority 50 + 1 voting scheme in elections, simply getting a plurality of the vote doesn't do trick. Had there been a plurality rule, Norwood would be mayor. After Borders conceded and endorsed Reed, it was over for Norwood. Over 70% of Borders voters switched to Reed in the runoff election giving him the advantage. This being the case, the need for a separate runoff election weeks later could have been avoided if a single transferable vote or an approval voting scheme was used. However, since the integrity of the vote is so important in public elections, a voting system that is well understood by all is a necessity.