Virginia Beach, Virginia, City Council District Election System Measure (November 2025)

Virginia Beach City Council District Election System Measure
Election date November 4, 2025
Topic Local elections and campaigns and Local electoral systems
Status On the ballot
Type Referral

Virginia Beach City Council District Election System Measure is on the ballot as a referral in Virginia Beach on November 4, 2025.

A "yes" vote supports requesting the state legislature to amending the city charter to authorize the by-district election of 10 city council members and one at-large mayor.

A "no" vote opposes requesting the state legislature to amend the city charter to authorize the by-district election of 10 city council members and one at-large mayor, thereby supporting the use of the modified 7-3-1 system, where seven members would be elected by district, three members would be elected at large, and the mayor would be elected at large.

A simple majority is required to approve the measure.

Election results

Virginia Beach City Council District Election System Measure
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		0	0.00%
No		0	0.00%

Measure design

See also: Text of measure

The Virginia State Legislature has the authority to amend local charters. The measure would advise the state legislature to amend the city charter to change how the city council and mayor are elected. The amendment would provide for 10 single-member districts where voters elect one member from their respective districts and provide that the mayor would be elected at large. This system is called the 10-1 system. Currently, the charter provides for the at-large or citywide election of all city council members and the mayor, with seven city council members representing residence districts and three city council members representing the city at-large.

In 2021, a federal court found the existing charter election system violated the voting rights of minority voters and ordered the city to adopt the 10-1 system. The same year, a general law was passed requiring cities that impose residency requirements on city councilmembers to be elected by the voters of the district and not at-large. Due to the state law, the system described in the charter would require seven city council members to be elected by district, allow three at-large members to be elected citywide, and authorize the at-large election of the mayor. This system is called the modified 7-3-1 system. The 10-1 system was used for city elections in 2022 and 2024.

The state legislature passed a charter amendment in 2024 to adopt the 10-1 system for Virginia Beach, but it was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for City Council District Election System Measure is as follows:

“

Should the method of city council elections set forth in the Virginia Beach City Charter be changed from a modified 7-3-1 system to a 10-1 system?  A 'yes' vote means that you support the 10-1 system, which was used in the 2022 and 2024 city council elections. 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).  A 'no' vote means you support the 7-3-1 system described in the current city charter as modified by a general law change that occurred in 2021. In the modified 7-3-1 system, the city is divided into 7 districts and the voters of each district elect a single council member, with three other council members and the mayor elected at-large (city-wide).

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Vote Yes on 10-1 Referendum Coalition and Yes for Virginia Beach are leading the campaigns in support of the measure.

Supporters

Officials

• State Rep. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D)
• Virginia Beach City Councilmember Jennifer Rouse (Nonpartisan)

Unions

• Virginia Beach Education Association

Organizations

• NAACP Virginia Beach Branch

Arguments

• Virginia Beach City Council Member Jennifer Rouse (Nonpartisan): "It’s been said over and over again that under the 10-1 system that the Virginia Beach City Council is the most diverse that it’s been in its history and that’s a fact."
• State Rep. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D-96): "The 10-1 system strengthens voter rights by making city council members accountable to their districts and ensuring minority voices are heard. Claims that it 'takes away' voting rights are a lie, pushed by developers who want to keep control."

Opposition

Every Vote Counts is leading the campaign in opposition to the measure.

Opponents

Officials

• Virginia Beach Mayor Bob Dyer (Nonpartisan)
• Virginia Beach City Councilmember Cash Jackson-Green (Nonpartisan)
• Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R)

Former Officials

• Former Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms (Nonpartisan)
• Former Virginia Beach City Manager Jim Spore

Arguments

• Virginia Beach City Council Member Cash Green (Nonpartisan): "We fought long and hard for the right to vote. The 10-1 system takes that power away. ... As a voter, you only get one vote for your district council representative and one vote for mayor. That's only two votes out of 11. And you don't even get to vote in every election. In fact, 156,000 Virginia Beach voters are silence every election year. That's not democracy. That's not true representation."
• Virginia Beah Mayor Bobby Dyer (Nonpartisan): "The 10-1 system that we currently have limits your ability to vote. You get to vote for one person every other year. ... With the modified 7-3-1 system, you're going to have more representation. You're gonna have more people that you count on to call and get things done."

Path to the ballot

To place a ballot question on local ballots in Virginia, a simple majority vote of city council members must request a circuit court to order the election.

This measure was put on the ballot through a 7-4 vote by the Virginia Beach City Council on May 6, 2025.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Virginia

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Virginia.

How to vote in Virginia

Poll times

In Virginia, all polls open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Virginia, one must be a United States citizen, a resident of Virginia, and at least 18 years of age.

Registration can be completed online, in person at a local voter registration office, or by mail. Voters can also register at the following locations:

“	State or local government offices when applying or re-certifying for Aid to Dependent Children, Food Stamps, WIC, Medicaid, or Rehabilitation Services Government offices in the state that provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities Armed forces recruitment offices Public libraries Virginia Department of Elections office Department of Motor Vehicles offices Voter registration drives	”
—Virginia Department of Elections

The deadline to register is the 11th day before a primary or general election, but a voter may register to voter after this deadline through the state's same-day registration system and vote a provisional ballot.

Automatic registration

On April 12, 2020, Governor Ralph Northam (D) signed SB219 into law, establishing automatic voter registration for individuals conducting business with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Virginia has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Virginia allows same-day voter registration in-person at local registrars' offices, satellite early voting sites during the early voting period, and at the precinct on Election Day.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Virginia, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Virginia does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who makes a materially false statement may be "sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, or up to 12 months in jail and/or fined up to $2,500."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

This page, run by the Virginia Department of elections, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

According to the Department of Elections website, "All voters casting a ballot in-person will be asked to show one form of identification. Any voter who does not present acceptable identification may instead sign a statement, subject to felony penalties, that they are the named registered voter who they claim to be. Any voter who does not present acceptable identification or sign this statement must vote a provisional ballot."

The following documents were considered acceptable identification for voting as of May 2023:

• Virginia driver's license or DMV-issued ID card
• Valid employee ID, containing a photo, issued by the voter's employer in ordinary course of business
• U.S. military ID
• Valid student ID, containing a photo, issued by any public or private school college, or university
• Valid student ID issued by a public or private school high school, college, or university in Virginia (with or without a photo)
• Valid U.S. passport or passport card
• ID card issued by the federal government or a Virginia state or local authority.
• Voter ID card issued by the department of elections
• Voter confirmation documents
• Valid tribal enrollment or ID issued by one of the 11 tribes recognized in Virginia
• Government nursing home resident ID
• Any other current government document containing the name and address of the voter
• Signed ID Confirmation Statement

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2025
• Local electoral systems on the ballot
• Local elections and campaigns on the ballot

Virginia

• Virginia 2025 local measures
• Local ballot measures, Virginia
• Virginia Beach, Virginia

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas