Virginia Beach will appeal court ruling that deemed its voting system illegal and discriminatory

Virginia Beach — The city of Virginia Beach is appealing a federal court ruling that declared its voting system illegal and discriminatory.

The city has been unable to reach a mutually agreeable settlement with the plaintiffs, and the appeal will be filed with the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in June, Mayor Bobby Dyer said in a statement.

In March, a judge ordered the city to immediately stop allowing voters across the city elect all 11 city council members. The judge ruled the at-large voting system violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting power of minorities.

The court will determine the type of election system the city will have going forward, but the judge is allowing each side to submit proposals.

Despite the ruling, new state laws would have forced Virginia Beach to abandon its at-large election system by 2022 anyway.

The city does not support the plaintiffs’ idea to create an election system with the mayor elected at-large and 10 council member districts elected only by voters residing in each district.

In the appeal, the city plans to argue that the plaintiffs’ case doesn’t show that “any single minority group is sufficiently large or compact to constitute a majority within any single voting district.”

Chris Lamar, senior legal counsel for Campaign Legal Center, said the city already has spent more than $5 million in taxpayer dollars on legal fees.

“Rather than adding more to the taxpayers’ bill to continue to defend its illegal, self-serving system, the city should focus on developing a truly representative system that protects the rights of all its citizens,” Lamar said. “That is especially true where, as here, state law now bars the city from using the election system that the federal court found to be illegal.”

The city will hold a public briefing on the case at 6 p.m. June 1 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Residents are invited to speak during public hearings June 8 and June 15.

Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com