VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia NAACP, the Virginia Beach Interdenominational Ministers Conference and social activist organization Due the Right Things have called for the city’s 10-1 district voting system to remain in place.
The 10-1 voting system allows voters to elect councilmembers based on the district they live in instead of across the whole city — as was previously the case.
The changes were approved by the council in August by a 10-1 vote. The original, at-large system was ruled illegal by a federal judge in 2021.
Such changes to the way a city operates have to be approved by the state legislature. Attendees of the press conference worried that opposition to the city’s charter change, which has already been introduced in the General Assembly, could be blocked by the very delegates who represent the area.
During a Tuesday press conference, Rev. Gary McCollum of the VBIMC said that the greatest benefit that the new system had provided was that it took “monied interests” out of the electoral process.
“[In] the old system, you had to run city-wide,” he said. “You were in a district, but the votes were counted citywide, which means that any candidate would have to mount a campaign over 200 precincts — larger than a member of the House of Delegates. That’s insane.
He also pointed to a survey conducted by UVA last year that found 81% of respondents wanting to keep the 10-1 system in place.
“We also believe that going backward jeopardizes the democratic values we hold dear to our hearts,” Rev. Eric Majette, president of the Virginia Beach chapter of the NAACP, told the crowd. “We urge the city and leaders to stress to their representatives in Richmond to prioritize the voices and the votes of every Virginian.
Majette said the 10-1 system upholds “the principles of equity, diversity and representation.”
“As faith leaders, we stand united with our community in advocating for equal voting rights,” said Reverend Perez Gatlin, president of the Virginia Beach Interdenominational Ministers Conference. “The 10-1 district voting system has been a crucial mechanism for ensuring genuine representation of all Virginia Beach citizens, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background. It is our moral duty to preserve and fight against any attempts that would undermine this fundamental right.”
McCollum singled out Dels. Barry Knight and Anna Tata by name, saying the press needs to ask them why they oppose the move. 10 On Your Side left messages with both offices but haven’t heard back yet.
“Our job today is to remind those who are in Richmond that they will come up for election again in two years,” said Georgia F. Allen, “and we will have our eye on them because this is not what the citizens want them to do. We did not elect them to go to Richmond to go against what our City Council has voted for.”
Allen was a plaintiff in the case that found the previous system denied minorities equal access to electoral process.
“It gave us, again, the most diverse city council in the history of Virginia Beach,” McCollum said. “And now we’re having politics at the highest level to try to go against what the people of Virginia Beach have already said they wanted.”
