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Council directs referendum materials after legal briefing on 10‑1 versus modified 7‑3‑1 election systems
Summary
After a legal briefing on competing court rulings, statutory changes and pending litigation, council asked staff to draft a charter-change referendum question, hold public comment April 15 and consider a vote on a referendum resolution May 6; staff outlined a neutral education plan and budget estimates for outreach.
City attorneys and the communications director briefed Virginia Beach City Council on the legal history and practical issues surrounding the city’s election method, and council directed staff to prepare a referendum resolution that would ask voters whether the charter election method should change to the 10‑1 system used in recent elections or remain a modified 7‑3‑1 format.
The briefing summarized decades of litigation and statutory changes that affect how Virginia Beach elects council members, beginning with the Holloway litigation and the federal court’s remedial order, the 2021 General Assembly action (House Bill 21‑98) and subsequent adoption of the Virginia Voting Rights Act. The city attorney described ongoing litigation — referenced in the meeting as the Branch case and…
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