Judge slams Virginia Beach election referendum as ‘intentional effort' to sidestep federal law
In a memorandum opinion and order issued Tuesday, Judge Raymond Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia called the referendum effort 'problematic,' in part because he said it invites the public to legitimize a voting system that would violate federal law. His written memo followed a hearing last month where Jackson rescinded his previous dismissal of the Holloway v. City of Virginia Beach case.
Two Virginia Beach residents — Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen — sued the city in 2017, challenging the all at-large election system used to elect members of the City Council and School Board. Jackson ruled in 2021 that the system 'denies Hispanics, African Americans and Asians equal access to the electoral and political process,' violating the federal 1965 Voting Rights Act. After that, the city began using a district-based electoral system that did away with all at-large seats except the mayor.
In July 2022, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the case was moot because Virginia's General Assembly had already passed a law (HB2198) eliminating at-large voting for most of the seats on the City Council. Jackson later dismissed Holloway's case but allowed for it to be brought back.
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Jackson officially reopened the lawsuit, allowing Holloway and Allen to challenge a hybrid voting system that would bring back three at-large seats. They have 30 days to file pleadings, according to the memo.
'We will be filing additional pleadings to ensure that, when Virginia Beach's voters go to the polls in 2026 and after, their ballots will be cast in a lawful system of election,' Holloway's attorney Simone Leeper wrote in an email Thursday.
In the memo, Jackson noted that city attorneys admitted private individuals have been 'exerting significant influence over the City's ability to implement electoral changes.'
Several well-connected business and community associations have pushed the idea of restoring some at-large seats on the council. City lawmakers voted in May to include a question on a November ballot referendum to gauge public support for either the 10-1 system or a 7-3-1 option, which would include seven district seats, three at-large seats and the mayor. A political action committee supporting the referendum effort — Every Vote Counts — has formed and is already collecting large donations.
'These facts strongly support the continued need for judicial oversight,' Jackson wrote. 'Defendants' conduct reflects not a mere lapse in execution but an intentional effort to avoid compliance with federal law and subvert a lawful electoral remedy.'
The city's charter doesn't yet line up with the district-based system, and previous efforts to enshrine the 10-1 system into law have been held up because of legal challenges.
Former council member Linwood Branch and other residents brought a suit last summer, saying the city had illegally removed three at-large seats.
In that case, a Circuit Court judge ruled last week that the 10-1 election system used in the past two local election cycles is void. To become effective, it will require the state legislature to pass legislation that amends the city charter to that effect, attorneys involved in the case have said.
When the city began positioning for a referendum, Holloway and Allen requested the federal court reopen their case, arguing the city is no longer taking steps to implement the 10-1 election system.
'This referendum is problematic for a variety of reasons,' Jackson wrote in the memo. 'First, the City previously surveyed the public, which showed 81% of the public supports the 10-1 system. Second, this referendum invites the public to legitimize a system that would violate Section 2 of the VRA (Voting Rights Act), specifically, the voting rights of minorities.'
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
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