Judge in voting rights case approves 10-district plan, maps for local elections in Virginia Beach

Georgia Allen, formerly the head of the NAACP in Virginia Beach, was one of the two plaintiffs in a lawsuit that led to a federal judge declaring Virginia Beach’s local voting system in violation of the U.S. Voting Rights Act because it denies minorities a fair say in elections. Allen was photographed at Town Center in December 2021. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]

Ed. — From the Sunday, Jan. 2, print edition.

VIRGINIA BEACH — A federal judge on Wednesday, Dec. 22, ordered the city of Virginia Beach to implement a new local election system creating 10 voting districts, including some with better opportunities for minority voters to elect representatives of their choice.

U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson ordered Virginia Beach to adopt a plan by a court-appointed voting rights expert to create 10 new districts for City Council races. The decision is expected to effect School Board elections because they essentially mirror council elections, though the board was not a party in the lawsuit — and members of the board have said they do not know what the decision means for them.

Candidates for seats on the council must now live within the districts in which they seek office, and, under the new system, only residents of a district can vote in the election for that seat. This last point is a change from Virginia Beach’s longtime “at-large” system, in which all city voters cast ballots in all council races — even when they lived outside a district. The mayor, who serves as the 11th member of the council, still will be selected by all city voters.

The judgement is the culmination of a civil lawsuit in which plaintiffs Latasha Holloway, a community activist who recently announced she will run for mayor, and Georgia Allen, formerly the longtime head of the local NAACP, successfully argued Virginia Beach has denied Black, Hispanic and Asian-American voters the right to elect candidates of their choice in violation of the U.S. Voting Rights Act. They were represented by the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, which on Friday, Dec. 24, declined to comment through a spokesperson.

“What a great day,” Holloway told The Independent News on Thursday, Dec. 23. “This is truly the season of joy and celebration and rejuvenation, and I’m so thrilled the judge has made this final order. This is the end of a Jim Crow relic that has promoted an apartheid at-large voting system in the city of Virginia Beach. The good citizens of the city of Virginia Beach are better for it.”

Allen on Tuesday, Dec. 28, said she is excited that the judge was satisfied with the new districts put forward by the special master and that the ultimate ruling in the lawsuit was in the plaintiffs’ favor.

“I think there’s a much better opportunity for there to be fair elections in Virginia Beach,” Allen said. “I’m especially excited for the next generation. My goal was opening doors so the young people could get involved in government.”

She said she hopes a changed system will lead to new leaders emerging in the city.

“Hopefully, we will have a much better society,” Allen said. “I’m doing this before I leave the earth so the children and the grandchildren can hopefully make much better decisions.”

Latasha Holloway, one of the plaintiffs in Holloway v. Virginia Beach, speaks at the courthouse in Virginia Beach on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]

Yet the conclusion of district court proceedings also means a planned appeal by the city can go forward. It was on hold during the remedial phase of the district court matter, in which both parties proposed new systems and then commented upon the special master’s plan and a recommended district map. The map, which appears on Page 13 of this edition, has been implemented with slight modifications from an earlier plan.

Deputy City Attorney Chris Boynton on Thursday, Dec. 23, said the city’s approach to the judge’s final order will be in two parts.

“First of all, the city will work with the registrar to prepare to implement the special master’s plan going forward,” Boynton said. “At the same time, the City Council has authorized an appeal of the district court’s prior liability decision, so we are moving forward with the appeal.”

Boynton said it is not yet clear what system will be used in 2022, when local elections are scheduled for several City Council and School Board seats. The city is seeking an expedited appeal in the case, he said.

The city filed an emergency motion with the appeals court on Monday, Dec. 27, arguing for the appeal to be expedited and for a schedule to be implemented so a decision could be completed by Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Boynton on Tuesday, Dec. 28, said the city was working toward getting the new maps out to the public and assisting the voter registrar. The maps are included in this edition of The Independent News, starting with an overview map on Page 13, and they can be reviewed at the city webpage via www.vbgov.com on an informational page about the case. Additionally, the city has placed an address lookup feature at its site so voters can see which new district they live in.

Before this edition of The Independent News went to press Thursday, Dec. 30, the plaintiffs filed a response to the city request, calling speeding up the appeal needless.

“The district court’s injunction and remedial order is in full force and effect, and the city must take the necessary steps to implement it for the 2022 elections, regardless of its pending appeal,” the plaintiffs argued.

Earlier this year, Jackson determined the city’s unusual at-large system, which mixes at-large, or citywide, seats and seven district seats, was unconstitutional because it prevented minority communities from having a fair say in City Council elections.

The plan by Dr. Bernard Grofman, a political scientist who served as the special master in the case, remedies violations of the U.S. Voting Rights Act identified by the court, Jackson wrote in his final order on Wednesday, Dec. 22. Jackson directed the city to implement the plan.

The ruling says the work of the special master shows the minority community of Black, Hispanic and Asian-American people “is politically cohesive because of their tendency to vote together for similar preferred candidates.”

The judge wrote that the special master’s report shows white voters in the city have “voted sufficiently as a bloc to enable them to usually defeat minority-preferred candidates.”

Though the lawsuit dealt only with council elections, the new system is expected to effect School Board races, too.

Virginia Beach’s at-large voting system has been unusual because people who live outside a district can help select the person who represents that district. Under the ruling and Jackson’s order earlier this year, that ends. Changes to state law this past year also doomed that long-controversial practice.

Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson on Thursday, Dec. 23, said the City Council will discuss options with the city attorney’s office.

“We actually thought the system we had served our citizens well overall throughout the years because they could vote for everyone,” Wilson said. “Before they could vote for 11 people, and now they can vote for two. I think people lost their voting power.”

City Councilmember Barbara Henley, who represents the Princess Anne District, said members of the council look forward to meeting with the city attorneys. Henley, who has supported the previous system, said she hopes to have a better understanding of issues such as how lines of the new maps include precincts.