Virginia Beach Voters Successful in Safeguarding Fair Election System
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — On March 9, 2026, Virginia Beach voters secured a hard-fought win for fair representation that ensures all voters in the city will continue to have a meaningful voice in local elections. An amendment to the city charter of Virginia Beach was officially adopted to codify a “10-1” election system — a fair, single-member district system that replaces a previous discriminatory partial at-large system — and ends a decades-long legacy of discrimination in how Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters elect their representatives in the commonwealth's largest city.
Following prolonged community advocacy to reform the election system, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) began representing Virginia Beach voters in their legal challenge for fair representation in 2018.
From 1966 until 2021, the city of Virginia Beach used an at-large method of elections to elect its City Council, which deprived Black, Latino and AAPI voters of the freedom to elect their preferred candidates to the City Council. In 2021, a federal court found that the city’s at-large election system was in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and ordered that all 10 members of the City Council be elected via single-member districts (with the mayor elected at-large), creating the 10-1 system.
Following that ruling, a years-long series of twists and turns — including a public input process, a redistricting ordinance, an additional court ruling requiring a charter amendment, and further action from CLC — culminated in November 2025 when Virginia Beach voters successfully passed a referendum requesting the Virginia General Assembly amend the city charter to adopt the 10-1 system. Just months later, the 10-1 system is now officially law.
“I first became involved in this case because I wanted our city to be a place where my children could have real, accountable representation, and this victory is proof that everyday people can make a difference. Now, with the 10-1 system in place, my children and the whole Virginia Beach community will have the opportunity they deserve to make their voices heard in our city government,” said plaintiff Latasha Holloway.
“In 2001, I stood before the Virginia Beach City Council and, alongside community partners, advocated for the 10-1 system of election. Now, 25 years later, that fair system of election is finally reflected in the Virginia Beach city charter. This victory took long, hard work, but it shows that we can make our voices heard if we continue to stand up and fight for our community,” said plaintiff Georgia Allen.
“Virginia Beach voters had to fight far too long for an election system that gives them an equal voice and fair representation,” said Simone Leeper, senior legal counsel for redistricting at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “After decades of discrimination by the previous at-large system — which a federal judge ruled denied Black, Latino and AAPI voters ‘equal access to the electoral and political process’ — and a winding legal path, Virginia Beach voters can rest assured that they will have an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice in the upcoming election and for elections to come.”
Read more about Virginia Beach’s fair election system here. Learn more about our case here.
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The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center advances democracy through law. We safeguard the freedom to vote, defend voters’ right to know who is spending money to influence elections, and work to ensure public trust in our elected officials.
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