Virginia Beach NAACP to hold town hall Tuesday on city voting system

VIRGINIA BEACH — As Virginia Beach begins a series of city forums about the options residents could have to elect their representatives, the local NAACP chapter is holding its own town hall Tuesday in support of the city’s existing district voting system.

The event will focus on voting rights and the history of voting in Virginia Beach as well as provide answers to questions about the new district system implemented last year, said the Rev. Eric Majette, president of the Virginia Beach NAACP chapter.

“We’re excited to bring the community together,” he said, adding that the town hall is open to everyone.

Virginia Beach ended its at-large voting system and implemented 10 single-member districts last year after a federal judge found the city’s old system was illegal and diluted the voting power of minorities. In three of the districts, minority voters form a majority of the voting population.

For the first time last November, only residents who lived in a council member’s district elected them rather than voters from across the city. Three new Black representatives were elected to the Virginia Beach City Council, making it the most diverse panel in the city’s history.

Following the election, the City Council decided in a divided vote to gather public input on the election system.

Virginia’s General Assembly passed a law eliminating at-large voting for most of Virginia Beach City Council seats and the city could reinstate its three at-large seats for the 2024 election. But doing so will require redistricting of the seven seats with residency requirements based on 2020 census data, according to the city. Any redistricting could potentially face a legal challenge.

The city is gearing up to host series of community meetings in each district and two virtual sessions beginning Saturday through April 3 to give residents an opportunity to provide input on how they want to elect their representatives. The schedule is available at https://www.publicinput.com/vbelections#3.

A new voting district map for the City of Virginia Beach was approved in December 2021 by U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson after the judge ruled the previous at-large election system violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The new map establishes 10 districts. Voters only will be allowed to cast ballots for candidates running in the district in which they live. (City of Virginia Beach )

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Virginia Beach contracted with the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service for community engagement. Later this spring, the center will provide a report on the current district election system and any legal alternative options to consider, according to the city.

The City Council could then decide to request an election system referendum question on the November ballot.

The Virginia Beach NAACP is concerned that some city leaders want to return to a form of the previous at-large voting system, which a U.S. District Court judge found disenfranchised Black, Asian, Hispanic and other minority residents.

“We’re not going backwards,” Majette said.

The NAACP town hall takes place 6:30 p.m. at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 965 Baker Road. The local branch wants the city efforts to make voting easier and more efficient, by increasing the number of election officials, expanding early voting sites, adding voting machines and accommodating Sunday voting, according to a news release.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com