Those include Democrats Kelly Cromer and Alesia Parson, and a slate of five Republican newcomers, Ruth Anne Callaham, the Rev. Haru Carter, Scott Hesse, Dan Kennedy and Torrence VanReenen.
The Republican council members have yet to be tested in an election because there was no Republican opposition in this year's primary.
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. If the primary election results are a guidepost, there's a strong possibility the results of the election won't be known Tuesday night.
There will be an estimate of the number of write-in votes cast Tuesday night, but the exact number won't be known until Wednesday, when officials verify all of Tuesday's poll results, election officials said.
The Democratic council primary also was close. One nominee won by a single vote after absentee ballots were counted. The absentee ballot count is scheduled for Thursday, election officials said.
The offices for which the candidates are running are the city's top political offices.
The council has authority over the city's budget - this year proposed to cost $107.7 million - as well as the city's property tax rate.
The mayor holds no vote during council meetings but is often seen as the city's chief ambassador, lobbyist and adviser. The mayor's role as described in the charter is to hold city meetings and set the agenda.
Together the mayor and council set policy for the city and determine funding for city departments.
There are 18,906 active, registered voters for Tuesday's election, including 8,577 Democrats, 7,126 Republicans, 2,903 voters not unaffiliated with a party, 54 Green Party registrants, three Constitution Party members and 226 voters of other various parties.
The March 8 primary, open only to Democrat and Republican voters, brought out 14.5 percent of affiliated voters, an uptick of about 3 percent from the 2001 primary, to which 11.7 percent of voters took to the polls.
In the 2001 general election, 17.3 percent of registered voters turned out to cast ballots.
