Virginia Beach residents can weigh in this month on whether they want a referendum on the city’s voting system.
The method of choosing council members and the mayor has been controversial for years, inviting lawsuits and generating debate. The issue came up again Tuesday as council considered holding a referendum.
The city implemented a new system after a federal court ruled in 2021 that the old system violated voting rights. After the 2022 and 2024 elections the city had a more racially and ethnically diverse council. Now some city leaders want to ask the public which they prefer.
Other city council members feel a referendum is a waste of time and money. A 2023 survey showed a majority of respondents preferred the new process.
Residents can comment at a hearing on April 15. City council will likely vote on it in early May.
Here’s a breakdown of the debate.
When Princess Anne County became Virginia Beach in 1963, the charter established city-wide elections for 11 council seats. That became the 7-3-1 system: The mayor and three seats represented the city and anyone could vote for them.
Candidates had to live in the districts of the seven remaining seats they hoped to represent, but anyone could vote for them as well.
It was a compromise to give rural voters weight in the process.
In 2017, Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen filed a lawsuit alleging 7-3-1 diluted the Black, Hispanic and Asian vote, and violated the federal Voting Rights Act.
A federal district court agreed and ordered Virginia Beach use a system with 10 voting districts. That means a council candidate has to live in the ward they want to represent and only residents of that district can vote for them. The mayor is still elected at large.
Virginia Beach began using the 10-1 system in November 2022. That year, three Black members were elected.
“This one election cycle under the 10-1 system elected half as many Black council members to serve Virginia Beach as have been elected in the previous 60 years combined,” Councilmember Jennifer Rouse said Tuesday.
Supporters say it gives voters a more direct line to their representative.
A 2023 University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service survey shows that 81% of residents favored the 10-1 system.
Mayor Bobby Dyer and a few others don’t consider the issue settled and favor a modified 7-3-1 system.
The city appealed the Holloway ruling in 2022. The appeal court ruled a state law adopted in 2021 made the original 7-3-1 system illegal and vacated the Holloway decision. The city kept the 10-1 system in place.
The city charter also hasn’t changed to reflect the 10-1 system and Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed an amendment to change it last year, citing continuing court cases. A similar bill failed in the Senate this year.
Council members who opposed the 10-1 system want to put the question to residents.
“I want to hear what the people have to say,” said Councilmember Stacey Cummings. “One of the most sacred rights we have is the right to vote.”
Cummings said changes to state law remove the racial discrimination that the court in the Holloway trial found in the original 7-3-1 system.
A city attorney said Tuesday the General Assembly isn’t required to honor the people’s vote when considering changes to the voting system.
“We have a map that complies with federal and state voting laws,” Councilmember Joash Schulman said, “so, unfortunately, I can’t support a referendum.”
