City of Virginia Beach responds to lawsuit regarding 10-1 district voting system
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The 10-1 district voting system implemented in the 2022 Virginia Beach elections has recently come under fire, as a lawsuit for the system has recently been filed.
On Jan. 23, the Virginia NAACP held a press conference to oppose the upcoming lawsuit, which attempts to remove the 10-1 voting system, claiming that it was enacted illegally during the November 2022 election season.
The lawsuit, which was filed by plaintiffs Linwood Branch, Dee Oliver, Don Horsely, Steve Simpson and LaTonya Roberson, claims that the redistricting action “unlawfully diluted their voting rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Virginia.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the new district voting system goes against the Dillon Rule, which states that local governments can only exercise powers expressly granted by the state, powers crucial to local governments to function and powers that are implied from the grant of power.
According to the lawsuit, the local government of Virginia Beach exceeded their redistricting authority by illegally manipulating the electoral system in the elimination of three at-large seats expressly established under the City Charter.
The previous at-large voting system implemented in Virginia Beach allowed residents across the seven regions, including Centerville, Kempsville, Rose Hall, Bayside, Lynnhaven, Beach and Princess Anne, to vote for the three at large members and Mayor, regardless of which district you reside in.
The 10-1 district voting system attempts to counteract this, by splitting Virginia Beach into 10 separate districts of approximate equal voting age. This would mean that each voter is only allowed to vote for the Mayor and representative of the district they reside in.
The City of Virginia Beach responded to the challenge to the 10-1 system on Thursday, alleging that the new voting system is perfectly legal, specifically calling out what the plaintiff’s failed to include in their lawsuit.
Specifically, the city claims that the suit does not include any allegation that they City’s charter system complies with the Virginia Voting Rights Act, which was initially the reason for the voting system change.
According to the city, Holloway v. City of Virginia Beach ruled that the local election system violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color or membership, and that the court-drawn 10-1 system acts to remedy the violation.
The Virginia Attorney General’s office issued a certificate of no objection on Jan. 14 of 2022, allowing the use of the newly drawn system for the upcoming November 2022 elections. The city concedes a bit, saying that it is true that the U.S. Court of Appeals did vacate the orders in Holloway, but stated that the new system had already been implemented by both state and local election officials.
Subsequently, the city also brought up Virginia Code § 24.2-808, which states that any attempt to contest the Nov. 8, 2022 election must be filed no later than 30 days after the election.
Virginia Beach City Council worked alongside the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center to collect data on a wide variety of citizen input about election systems that comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The study found that the 10-1 district voting system used for the 2022 election was supported by 81% of city residents, with a 95% confidence level. Further research into the system also found that the 10-1 system is the “only legally viable system under both federal and state law.”
Virginia Code § 24.2-130 provides as follows:
An at-large method of election, including one that combines at-large elections with district- or ward-based elections, shall not be imposed or applied by the governing body of any locality in a manner that impairs the ability of members of a protected class, as defined in § 24.2-125, to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgement of the rights of voters who are members of a protected class.
A violation of subsection A is established if it is shown that racially polarized voting occurs in local elections and that this, in combination with the method of election, dilutes the voting strength of members of a protected class.
The city also responded by stating that on Nov. 17, 2023, City Council requested for the charter to be changed in a 9-1 vote. This request is currently on the floor of the House of Delegates, and has already passed in the Senate in a 40-0 vote.
The response ends by stating, “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.”
To learn more about Virginia Beach’s 10-1 district voting system, click here.
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