VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach NAACP held a town hall meeting Monday night to inform the community about the city’s 10-1 voting system.

At the meeting, organizers answered community questions about the election system and encouraged people to speak at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, where a vote on the system is expected to be held.

Under the 10-to-1 system, voters in Virginia Beach can only vote for the mayor and city council member who represents their district. The city is divided into 10 districts.

A 2023 survey by the University of Virginia found that residents overwhelmingly preferred the 10-to-1 system.

In May 2023, the city council officially adopted the 10-to-1 voting system implemented in the last two elections. Before that, voters could vote for all 11 council members, including the mayor.

john hood

The current Virginia Beach city charter is based on a 7-3-1 electoral voting system, which specifies that there are seven single-member districts and three at-large districts.

The resolution, which will be voted on at the upcoming city council meeting, will ask the General Assembly next year to amend the city’s charter. This will allow the city to permanently implement the 10-to-1 voting system.

City council He went through a similar process last year, but his efforts resulted in Governor Youngkin vetoing the charter change.

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Virginia Beach NAACP members feel the new system better represents residents in the city.

“Once again, I want to make sure we show up tomorrow,” said Gary McCollum, a proponent of the 10-1 system. “We will not go back to an old system where people with financial interests, especially the beach, control everything in the city of Virginia Beach.”

A public hearing on the decision was held last month, and some opponents of the new system argued it was currently against the city charter.

There will be another public hearing at the meeting, which will start at 18:00 on Tuesday night.

john hood