A federal judge on Tuesday issued an order saying plaintiffs can enter new pleadings in the lawsuit that led to the 10-district local voting system Virginia Beach first used in 2022.
The city didn’t live up to assurances that it would enact the system, the court found.
U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson’s made the decision in June. In his written order, he wrote that plaintiffs Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen satisfied the standard for filing new claims because the city stopped pursuing a charter change to codify the 10-1 system. The plaintiffs have 30 days to file new claims.
The plaintiffs agreed in 2023 to dismiss the suit, which alleged the city’s former at-large system was discriminatory because it denied minority voters the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice under the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965.
At the time of the dismissal, the 10-1 system was in effect and the city meant to codify it.
The city didn’t live up to its agreement, Jackson found.
“Rather than honoring those representations, defendants have materially misled both plaintiffs and the court,” Jackson wrote Tuesday.
Virginia Beach Deputy City Attorney Chris Boynton said the city believes it did what was required by the dismissal order, including seeking a charter or general law change in 2024.
The General Assembly supported a charter change, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed it. The city did not seek state approval this year after it was rejected last year.
Virginia Beach voters will consider local voting systems in a referendum in November — including whether to support the 10-1 system. It lets voters choose one district representative and one citywide representative for the School Board and the City Council. On the council, the citywide seat is the mayor.
The other referendum option is a “modified” 7-3-1 system that reflects language remaining in the charter but has never been used. It is not the same as the city’s former “at large” voting system here. It would split the city into seven districts and four citywide seats. As described by the city, that would mean voters could select four citywide representatives and their district representative, or five of 11 members.
Holloway could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, and Allen said she cannot discuss the order. The nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, which has represented the plaintiffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This past week, Allen addressed the City Council to voice support for the 10-1 system. On Saturday, she said community leaders and organizations will advocate for that choice in the referendum.
“We should be able to draw our district lines to ensure that everybody has one person, one vote and the right to elect the representative of their choice,” Allen said. “Are we going to have to fight for it? Absolutely.”
The future of that system is murky after a state judge recently found the City Council overstepped when it enacted it through a 2023 redistricting ordinance without needed state approval. The city tried last year to codify the 10-district system, but Youngkin vetoed legislation that would have changed the city charter, citing the state lawsuit.
The state suit’s plaintiffs include former City Councilmember Linwood Branch. It argues that existing charter language means citizens still have a right to vote for four at-large seats on each body, as well as one of seven district seats.