THE INDEPENDENT NEWS
COURTHOUSE — The city announced a series of discussions with residents about the local voting system in Virginia Beach, which last year changed to a 10-district system following federal litigation and may change again by the 2024 elections.
Virginia Beach essentially will decide whether to keep the system used this past year or consider other voting systems in the coming months. Citizen feedback will be part of that process. The schedule includes virtual and in-person meetings.
Meeting dates and locations follow.
• 5 p.m., Saturday, March 25, Bayside Recreation Center, 4500 First Court Rd.
• 3:30 p.m., Sunday, March 26, virtual meeting via speakupvb.com
• 6:30 p.m., Monday, March 27, Fairfield Elementary School, 5428 Providence Rd.
• 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 28, Ocean Lakes High School, 885 Schumann Dr.
• 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 29, Central Library, 4100 Virginia Beach Blvd.
• 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 29, Kellam High School, 2665 West Neck Rd.
• 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 30, College Park Elementary School, 1110 Bennington Rd.
• 5:30 p.m., Friday, March 31, Williams Farm Recreation Center, 5252 Learning Cir.
• 4:30 p.m., Saturday, April 1, Advanced Technology Center, 1800 College Cres.
• 3 p.m., Sunday, April 2, Bow Creek Recreation Center, 3427 Club House Rd.
• 1 p.m., Monday, April 3, virtual meeting via speakupvb.com
• 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 3, First Colonial High School, 1272 Mill Dam Road
All meetings will be live streamed via speakupvb.com.
Additional information is available from the city online via www.vbgov.com/vb10 and www.vbgov.com/electionchanges.
News coverage by The Independent News is online via this link.
I attended the first meeting on Saturday, March 25 at the Bayside Rec Ctr. The room was packed with standing room only. I would say the average age was in the neighborhood of 50-plus.
Of all of the folks who spoke, there was but one who supported an alternate of 7-3-1.
Councilman Joash Schulman as in attendance, which took a lot of fortitude on his part.
Judge Jackson ruled on the current system that was just used in the November 2022 elections, and beyond a little confusion as to correct precincts, there was no problem; all the voter needed to do is open the registration mailer from the voter registration’s office to read where they vote. I pointed out the pending US Supreme Court decision in Alabama is the only thing that may change the complexion of this issue.
Mr. Dean, this is John. Thank you for the comment. I believe I am going to meetings tonight and then on Wednesday at Kellam, if my schedule holds. Just to clarify: were folks in support of keeping 10-1 or something similar to the old 7-3-1? I may have misunderstood the post. I believe it was Mr. Moss who pointed out that the input being gathered may lead folks to believe there is a possibility to enact a system with no clear legal possibility. Thanks again.