VIRGINIA BEACH — Plaintiffs in a revived lawsuit against the city want to quash attempts to revamp its election system to include at-large representation. While a referendum on the election system is set for November, city attorneys say no changes have been made yet and it’s premature to challenge. They want the case dismissed.
The latest exchange in arguments are unfolding in the federal lawsuit, decided in 2021, that led the city to change its election system to district-based representation. A federal judge agreed to revive the case this summer after the City Council decided to hold a referendum vote in November seeking input from voters on how to elect its members and those of the School Board.
Residents will vote whether to amend the city charter to officially adopt the 10‑1 system — 10 council districts with each district electing one member plus a mayor elected at-large — or to use a modified 7‑3‑1 system, in which the city would have seven district-elected council members and three at-large council members plus the mayor.
The 7-3-1 system is established in the city’s charter was and modified by a 2021 general law. But the 10-1 system was used in the 2022 and ’24 City Council elections. The next City Council and School Board elections are Nov. 3, 2026.
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Two more Virginia Beach residents — Carlos Pagán and Nicole Boehm — have joined Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen in the lawsuit. They oppose a 7-3-1 system “because such a system does not provide Black, Latino, and AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) voters in the City with an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice to the City Council,” according to an amended compliant filed last month.
The plaintiffs argue Virginia Beach’s minority community is entitled under the Virginia Voting Rights Act to three minority opportunity districts, and that a 7-3-1 system cannot provide for those three districts. They’re asking the court to prevent the city’s use of a 7-3-1 method of election for the City Council.
In response, the city has asked the court to dismiss the case for various reasons including that the 7-3-1 system is not currently being used. The city also argues that the coalition of minorities claim is inconsistent with wording in the Voting Rights Act.
As an alternative option, the city requests a pause in the case for a resolution as to “whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act authorizes separately protected minority groups to aggregate their populations for purposes of a vote dilution claim.”
On Sept. 4, the plaintiffs asked the judge to deny the motion to dismiss or pause the case because a delay would mean the case wouldn’t be resolved before the 2026 election.
“That would severely prejudice Plaintiffs, who instead seek expeditious relief to ensure the 2026 election occurs under a lawful electoral system,” the court document says.
If the city tries to adopt a 7-3-1 system after the referendum, the plaintiffs want a hearing before the March 16 opening of candidate filing for the 2026 election.
The city’s attorneys plan to file a reply brief soon. U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson will then decide whether he wants to hear oral arguments on the motion to dismiss or simply issue a ruling, according to Deputy City Attorney Chris Boynton.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
