VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In a vote during Tuesday's Virginia Beach City Council meeting, the city council failed to receive the number of votes necessary for the implementation of the 10-1 district voting system for 2025.
The council voted 7-4 in favor, which did not reach the three-fourths needed for an affirmative vote.
Eighty-one percent of residents supported the system, which was designed to promote fair representation by ensuring each district elects a single council member.
Watch related coverage: Virginia Beach NAACP urges people to support 10-1 voting system
"The 10-1 system is the best I’ve seen since I been here. It’s about people of color having a seat,” a Virginia Beach resident told News 3's Leondra Head in October.
City council formally adopted the system in May of 2023, and the system was in place for the last two elections, including the 2024 election.
On Monday, the Virginia Beach NAACP held a meeting about the 10-1 system and urged voters to speak at the city council meeting.
Watch related coverage: Virginia Beach residents debate on 10-1 voting system before city council
"Again, I just want to make sure that we show up tomorrow," said Gary McCollum at the NAACP meeting. "We're not going back to an old system that had people with moneyed interest, primarily at the beach, control everything in the city of Virginia Beach."
Prior to the 10-1 implementation, voters could vote for all 11 city council members.
“Last Fall, the City adopted a redistricting ordinance reflecting the 10-1 election system previously ordered by the federal court. A lawsuit filed in state court by former Councilmember Linwood Branch and others challenges the adoption of that system and seeks to require the City to adopt a new redistricting ordinance consistent with the 7-3-1 system set forth in the City Charter. The outcome of that case is likely to be determined this Spring. The City will have to re-evaluate next steps after that time.”
