A 10-district voting system used in Virginia Beach since 2022 is finally in the city charter.
The House of Delegates passed legislation on Monday that places the process twice used in Virginia Beach in the charter and says the city can continue using voting districts that were adopted by the City Council but faced a legal challenge.
Both chambers approved bills with emergency clauses recommended by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. The passage of two Senate bills in the House of Delegates means changes go into effect immediately. The Senate passed the bills last week.
Sen. Aaron Rouse, a former member of the Virginia Beach City Council, said the step is the result of years of work by a range of people in the community. He said the system gives citizens representation that better reflects them than the city’s former at-large method.
“We have a very diverse city and that should be reflected on City Council,” he said.
Del. Alex Askew said the 10-1 system will be “the law of the land after a long, drawn-out fight” and added that the 10-1 system has resulted in diverse representation on the council.
“I truly believe this is going to move Virginia Beach into the future,” Askew said. “We’ve had a truly representative government for the past few years.”
The 10-district system is being used for this year’s local elections and candidates are already submitting paperwork to run.
Federal and state court cases about the voting system have been stayed because of the anticipated actions by the legislature following a referendum. In November, 53.4% of city voters supported the 10-1 over a “modified” version of the former 7-3-1 system.
Language reflecting the former system had remained in the charter, though it has not been used since a federal judge found the old system denied minority voters the right to elect candidates of their choice.
This past year, a state court found the city had erred by adopting districts without securing a charter charge. Now, Virginia Beach hopes the codification of the voting system means court cases at the state and federal levels are moot.
The city will notify the federal and state courts about the change.
