Virginia Beach to vote on support of charter change for district-only election system

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VIRGINIA BEACH — More than 53% of Virginia Beach voters supported a charter change to codify a district-only based election system. On Tuesday, the City Council will vote to join in support of the charter amendment.

The results of the referendum election are provided to the city’s General Assembly delegation whether or not the City Council passes a resolution. But several council members requested the show of support including Mayor Bobby Dyer, Stacy Cummings, David Hutcheson, Worth Remick, Amelia Ross-Hammond, Jennifer Rouse and Joash Schulman.

“My colleagues have said over and over again, let’s put the vote to the people, and whatever the will of the people is what the body will do,” said Rouse, who joined other local political leaders at a news conference two days after the election. “The people have said they want 10-1, so I anticipate my colleagues will support me in this effort.”

State Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler, a Democrat who represents Virginia Beach and was reelected Nov. 4, is drafting a bill for the charter amendment to introduce in the House of Delegates. She and Sen. Aaron Rouse, also a Virginia Beach Democrat and the husband of Jennifer Rouse, plan to carry the legislation in both houses. The 2026 General Assembly session convenes Jan. 8.

Convirs-Fowler plans to include an emergency clause in the legislation so that if the bill passes both House and Senate, which will require a two-thirds vote, and Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger signs it, the amendment would go into effect immediately, she said.

Virginia Beach has 336,544 registered voters. Of those, 170,170 cast ballots in this year’s election, or 51%, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

The charter change referendum question was open to all voters in Virginia Beach, and a total of 161,944 people checked a box.

The referendum aimed to address a conflict between the charter and the city’s 2023 redistricting ordinance, in which the city adopted its 10-1 voting system. Previous efforts to enshrine the 10-1 system into law have been held up because of legal challenges.
The question on the ballot asked if the method of City Council elections set forth in the Virginia Beach City Charter should be changed from a modified 7-3-1 system to a 10-1 system.

The “yes” vote, in support of the 10-1 system, which was used in the 2022 and 2024 City Council elections, won with 86,457 votes, or 53.4% of the vote.

In the 10-1 system, the city is divided into 10 districts, and the voters of each district elect a single council member with the mayor elected at-large (city-wide).

The “no” vote, which was in support of a 7-3-1 system, lost with 75,487, or 46.6% of the vote.
The 7-3-1 system described a potential for the city to be divided into seven districts with voters of each district electing a single council member, and with three other council members and the mayor elected at-large (city-wide).

A 2023 public survey found broad support for the 10-1 system, but several well-connected business and community associations threw their support behind a system with at-large seats.

In May, seven of 11 council members voted in favor of a charter change referendum on the election system to be placed on the November ballot to gauge public opinion.

Soon after, several referendum committees formed in support of and against the 10-1 system. In the months leading up to the election, the groups raised funds, ran advertisements, held town halls and erected signs around town to gain support. The committee that wanted more at-large seats on council raised more than $600,000, far surpassing its opposition.
“The people of Virginia Beach stood tall,” said Aaron Rouse.. “They wanted representative democracy that will put their communities first and that is what we have with 10-1.”

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com