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Virginia lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that would force Virginia Beach to change the way it elects local leaders.
The legislation will now go to Gov. Ralph Northam for final approval.
If Northam supports the bill, Virginia Beach will no longer be allowed to have a voting system where district representatives are elected by all voters across the city.
Currently, Virginia Beach voters can pick all 11 representatives for the City Council and School Board. Seven council members are required to live in the district they represent, while three serve at-large and can live anywhere in the city. The mayor also can live anywhere within the city.
Virginia Beach would have until Jan. 1 to decide how to implement the legislation.
The council has several options, which Mayor Bobby Dyer said will be evaluated over the coming months. The city could switch to a truly at-large voting system and drop residency requirements, which is the system used by Chesapeake and Portsmouth. If the council decides to have ward or district representatives, only voters who live in those districts will be able to elect them. The council could also keep a hybrid district and at-large system — the only thing that would change is who is voting for the district representatives.
Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler, D-Virginia Beach, who sponsored the bill, said this voting system needed to be eliminated because it disenfranchises voters, especially Black residents who make up nearly 20% of the city’s total population. She said representation for Black communities should not be selected by the entire city.
The City Council has two Black members. Five have been elected in the city’s history.
Whether voters have been disenfranchised will be decided by a federal judge.
The city is waiting for a ruling in a federal lawsuit challenging the voting system. In the lawsuit filing, Virginia Beach residents Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen argued that Virginia Beach’s voting system dilutes or minimizes minority voting strength and denies those voters equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. When reached Wednesday, Holloway said she was grateful that the legislation passed.
“The city of Virginia Beach can’t be trusted with implementing a fair and just voting system,” she said. “I am grateful we are seeing the change we need to see in our city. It is due time.”
On Tuesday night, Dyer and a few other council members expressed concern that lawmakers in Richmond were imposing a new voting system on the city without seeking input from voters. After the meeting, Dyer sent a letter to the Senate to inform them that the council planned to place a referendum on the ballot in November so local voters could determine the preferred voting system.
Vice Mayor Jim Wood said he thinks the bill is “a partisan overreach that brushed aside the ability of the citizens to have a say in their method of electing their representatives.”
In August 2020, the majority of the City Council voted against placing a referendum on the ballot to ask voters whether to change how City Council members are elected. The opponents, including Dyer and Wood, said there wasn’t enough time to educate the public about the topic before the November election. They also expressed concerns about being able to reach the public during a pandemic.
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On Wednesday, Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, requested that the Senate amend the bill to require a referendum to change local voting systems. The Senate did not support it. Sen. Lionell Spruill Sr., D-Chesapeake, said the council members’ support for DeSteph’s amendment came at the ninth hour when they feared the General Assembly would approve changing their voting system.
Dyer said he was upset that the bill passed and that the council wasn’t consulted.
“I am disappointed that the City Council has been denied proper input,” Dyer said on Wednesday. “I intend to make a personal appeal to the governor to appeal it.”
Councilwoman Jessica Abbott, who has urged the council for several years to hold a referendum on the issue, also wrote a letter to the Senate asking them to amend the bill to include a provision requiring localities to hold binding referendums. In the past, Abbott has said Virginia Beach’s voting system favors special interests and discourages diversity on the council.
She hopes the council will allow residents to weigh in on how the election system should change.
“I agree with a (traditional) district voting system, but I am disappointed the Senate could not amend the bill to include a binding referendum to assist in determining the new system as I believe the public’s input is paramount to public trust,” Abbott wrote in a text to The Pilot. “That said, I hope that Council works to educate the public on the new system imposed by the General Assembly and continue to review the possibility of rank choice voting and other voting formats.”
Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.