Some Chesapeake leaders pushing to ask residents to weigh in on district voting system

CHESAPEAKE — Some leaders in Chesapeake are pushing the possibility of transitioning to a district-based election system by posing the question to voters in the upcoming election.

A potential change to the city’s local election system could be up for discussion in the coming weeks following a request made by council member Don Carey at a meeting earlier this month. Carey asked for background information to be placed on the May 28 meeting agenda so that council members could consider beginning the process of putting a referendum on the ballot that would ask voters to weigh in on a single-member district voting system versus the current at-large system.

City council, school board members and the mayor in Chesapeake are elected in an at-large system where the candidates with the most votes from voters across the city win open seats. In a single-member district system, representatives must live in their district and only residents who live in the district can vote for their representative. Some positions, like the mayor, could still be elected at-large. Some cities, like Norfolk, have a mix of wards and superwards for local elections.

It’s an issue Virginia Beach, which used the district system in 2022, has been grappling with for years as it currently works to make the change official in the city charter.

Calls to contemplate a district-based voting system in Chesapeake have been made for years. But it most recently came up in a March 26 meeting when several residents and activists pushed council members to consider it. Proponents of the district system say it helps prevent the dilution of minority votes seen in at-large systems, especially in a city of Chesapeake’s size and demographics. Chesapeake is the second most populous city in the commonwealth, measures more than 350 square miles and has a significant minority population.

Carey said it’s an issue he’s heard at least since his election to Council in 2020, and that “sentiments are revving up.” He also deems it an ideal time since the upcoming election is a presidential one, which often sees higher voter turnout.

“More and more interest is being garnished, and I’m simply thinking when are we going to ever be able to have this many citizens gathering together to give feedback on an important issue like this,” Carey told The Virginian-Pilot. “And that’s simply all I’m aiming for here is to garnish feedback from citizens in the most effective way whether we go down this route or not.”

The process for getting a referendum on the ballot is carried out primarily through the Circuit Court. Council could approve a resolution that would authorize the city attorney’s office to petition the court for a referendum order, according to City Attorney Catherine Lindley, who cited state code. A public hearing on the resolution would be advertised before the Council voted on it. Carey said he hopes to have the public hearing at the June 11 meeting.

If approved, the petition and order must be entered by the court at least 81 days before the date of the Nov. 5 election.

Carey said his request at this time is just to get the process started and allow opportunity for the public to weigh in. Council member Ella Ward voiced support for Carey’s pursuit.

Mayor Rick West, however, expressed in the meeting and to The Pilot that he feels the move is “premature” since not enough information is known at this time. Though he’s opposed to any agenda item that would initiate the process, West said he still wants to hear feedback from the general public on the issue.

“(I) think there are a lot of questions that have to be answered in terms of the process,” West said. “Should we decide to go to a ward system, what is that going to look like? Is it going to accomplish what the people who are supportive of it are trying to accomplish?”

Both West and Carey are vying for the mayor’s seat in the upcoming November election.

Even if a referendum is placed on the ballot and voters approve, the measure would still have to get General Assembly approval to make it happen — a process currently playing out in Virginia Beach.

The at-large ward system’s impact on minority voters was the gist of why Virginia Beach’s election system was overhauled following a federal lawsuit filed in 2017. A federal judge in 2021 agreed Virginia Beach’s at-large system diluted minority representation, and the court imposed a district-based election system on the city. The new system was used in the 2022 election and included 10 districts.

The effects of the changes to the city’s voter system were immediately evident, according to previous reporting by The Pilot. The Virginia Beach City Council that was sworn into office in 2023 was the most diverse and among the youngest in city history, with four Black representatives and four members under age 45.

Virginia Beach, however, continues to grapple with officially changing its election process in its city charter, which was further complicated following a veto this week from Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The governor cited a pending lawsuit against Virginia Beach filed by a former council member and others, who allege the city “illegally manipulated the Virginia Beach electoral system by eliminating three at-large seats that are expressly established under the City Charter,” and deprived the rights of voters.

As Chesapeake leaders consider the issue, some local groups that have previously voiced support for transitioning to single-member district voting system, including the New Chesapeake Men for Progress and Chesapeake branch of the NAACP, will host a town hall informational meeting for residents on Thursday at 7 p.m. at New Galilee Missionary Baptist Church.

Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com