VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach NAACP held a town hall meeting Monday night to inform the community about the city's 10-1 voting system.
At the meeting, organizers answered questions the community may have on the election system and encouraged people to speak at Tuesday night's city council meeting—where a vote on the system is expected to happen.
Under the 10-1 system, voters in Virginia Beach can only vote for the mayor and the city council member who represents their district. The city is divided into 10 districts.
A survey done by the University of Virginia in 2023 found that residents overwhelmingly preferred the 10-1 system.
In May of 2023, the city council formally adopted the 10-1 voting system, which has been in place for the last two elections. Before that, voters could vote for all 11 council members—which includes the mayor.
The current Virginia Beach city charter goes by the 7-3-1 election voting system, which states that there are seven single-member districts and three at-large districts.
The resolution being voted on during the upcoming city council meeting would ask the General Assembly next year to amend the city's charter. This would allow the city to permanently implement the 10-1 voting system.
The city council went through a similar process last year, but their efforts ended with Gov. Youngkin vetoing the charter change.
Members of the Virginia Beach NAACP feel the new system is a better representation for residents across the city.
"Again, I just want to make sure that we show up tomorrow," said Gary McCollum, an advocate for the 10-1 system. "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."
Last month, a public hearing was held on the resolution, where some people who oppose the new system argued it is currently against the city charter.
Another public hearing will be held during Tuesday night's meeting, which starts at 6 p.m.
