VIRGINIA BEACH — A Circuit Court judge Monday denied a request that would have prevented district-based elections of Virginia Beach City Council members this fall and will issue an opinion soon on whether a lawsuit against the city’s voting system can move forward.
The 2024 election will continue as planned under the current ward-based system, said Deputy City Attorney Chris Boynton.
Former Norfolk Judge Charles Poston presided over a hearing Monday on a lawsuit brought by former Councilman Linwood Branch and several other residents who contend that the city “illegally manipulated the Virginia Beach electoral system by eliminating three at-large seats that are expressly established under the City Charter,” and deprived the rights of voters.
On Friday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have aligned Virginia Beach’s city charter with its district-based election system, citing the pending lawsuit.
SB189 and matching HB416 would have amended the city’s charter to establish a city council with only single-member districts and a mayor. Youngkin had previously amended the bill to say it “shall not become effective unless reenacted by the 2025 Session of the General Assembly.” The senate rejected the amended bill and sent it back to the governor, who then vetoed it in its original form.
Youngkin said in his veto statement that he wants the court to “adjudicate the correctness of the implementation,” and that the bill could be reintroduced at next year’s General Assembly session.
Following the governor’s veto, state Sen. Aaron Rouse, a Virginia Beach Democrat and the bill sponsor, said in a statement that the governor “has proven to the people of Virginia Beach that he is beholden to special interests that seek to take us back to an old system that was not representative of our city.”
Last year, the City Council formally adopted a redistricting plan and authorized a ward-based election system, the same method used in November 2022.
The council used to have four members, including the mayor, who were elected at large. Those four could live anywhere in the city and were elected by residents across Virginia Beach. The remaining seven members represented districts but also were elected by the population at large.
Virginia Beach’s election system was overhauled as a result of a lawsuit filed in 2017 that alleged the at-large system that allowed residents from across the city to vote in every council race was illegal and diluted minority voting power. A federal judge agreed in 2021, and the court imposed a district-based election system on Virginia Beach and appointed a special master to draw 10 new voting district maps.
The so-called 10-1 system was used in the 2022 election and includes 10 districts. Representatives must live in their district and only residents who live in the district can vote for their representative. The mayor is elected at-large.
The General Assembly also approved legislation in 2022 that required candidates for City Council and School Board appear only on the ballots for the voters who reside within the bounds of their district.
The effects of the changes to the city’s voter system were immediately evident. The council sworn into office in 2023 was the most diverse — and possibly the youngest — in city history with four Black representatives and four members under 45.
But the City Charter doesn’t yet align with the election system overhaul, and an amendment requires General Assembly approval.
Brandan Goodwin, the plaintiffs’ attorney, argued Monday state law doesn’t allow the city to take away the at-large seats defined in the charter. He had asked to halt an election using the 10-1 system in November, but the judge denied that request Monday.
Boynton said the 10-1 system complies with the Virginia Voting Rights Act and was the city’s only viable option.
“We had no other choice,” Boynton said. “There was one path; we took that path.”
Poston said he will review the city’s defenses and decide if the plaintiffs’ case can prevail.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
