VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two bills are in the Virginia General Assembly to bring the City of Virginia Beach's charter up to date to a 10-1 voting system, something that already has changed in 2022.
Monday morning members of the Virginia NAACP and state leaders held a press conference in Richmond to encourage house delegates to pass HB 416.
"This charter change is only catching up to what the federal courts have already deemed and already ordered that the city of Virginia Beach have a 10-1 system," Sen. Aaron Rouse, said.
Rouse is the patron of the senate version of the bill to amend the city charter.
Back in 2021, a federal judge found the previous at-large voting system was unconstitutional because it diluted minority voting rights.
The system was known as 7-3-1, for seven council members, three at-large council members, and the mayor.
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During this time you could vote for all eleven people no matter where you lived.
"They were able to vote across the board and vote for policies that favor the status quo," political analyst, Dr.Eric Claville, said.
The somewhat new 10-1 system divided the city into ten districts and allowed voters to only elect the mayor and the person who represents the district they live in.
"It allows districts, so if you live in a certain district, then you can vote for that representative to represent your interests," Claville said. "It's a system that's used in the federal system, in our state system, and in every city across the Commonwealth except this time it's Virginia Beach."
In August, City Council voted to adopt the new 10-1 system after it was used in the 2022 election.
The two bills now in the General Assembly would officially amend the city's charter to the 10-1 system.
The city is also facing two lawsuits, with the latest one filed last week on behalf of several people including former city council member Linwood Branch
"What we're claiming is they don't have authority in the state law to eliminate at large representation that is guaranteed to the citizens of Virginia Beach under the city charter," Brandan Goodwin, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, said. "That's our claim, and by doing so, they are bridging the rights of the citizens to vote for three additional candidates."
Part of the city's statement to the lawsuit said:
Accordingly, either the City has already lawfully, fully adopted the 10-1 system in its decennial redistricting measure and the suit is entirely without legal merit as to the adoption of the 10-1 system for 2024 and beyond, or the City is in the middle of an ongoing process of seeking lawful adoption of the 10-1 system via a charter or general law change in the General Assembly and this suit is unripe as to the City’s adoption of such system.
The Senate Bill to amend the city's charter passed unanimously last week, but the House Bill did receive some pushback from local delegates.
The bill's second reading is expected to happen this week.
