City elections in Chesapeake, Virginia (2020)
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| 2020 Chesapeake elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: March 3, 2020 |
| General election: May 19, 2020 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor and three city council positions |
| Total seats up: 4 (click here for mayoral elections) |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2020 |
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held general elections for mayor and three city council positions on May 19, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was March 3, 2020.
This election was originally scheduled on May 5, 2020. On April 24, 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced the postponement of elections scheduled on May 5, 2020, to May 19 amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. This announcement came after the Virginia State Senate rejected a proposal to delay local elections until November 2020.[1][2]
Click here to learn more about the city's mayoral election.
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Virginia modified its absentee/mail-in voting and candidate filing procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Drop-boxes to return absentee and mail-in ballots were used for the general election. The witness requirement for absentee voting was suspended, and all absentee and mail-in ballots had prepaid return postage.
- Voter registration: The state's voter registration deadline was extended from October 13, 2020, to October 15, 2020.[3]
- Candidate filing procedures: Petition signature requirements for unaffiliated and minor-party candidates for federal office in Virginia were reduced as follows: 2,500 signatures for presidential candidates; 3,500 signatures for U.S. Senate candidates; and 350 signatures for U.S. House candidates. The filing deadline for unaffiliated and minor-party congressional candidates was extended to August 1.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Elections
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Candidates and results
General election
General election for Chesapeake City Council (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Chesapeake City Council on May 19, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Don Carey III (Nonpartisan) | 19.7 | 17,693 | |
| ✔ |  | S.Z. Ritter (Nonpartisan) | 19.6 | 17,569 |
| ✔ |  | Robert Ike (Nonpartisan) | 17.8 | 15,979 |
 | Dwight Parker (Nonpartisan) | 14.5 | 13,029 | |
 | Les Smith Jr. (Nonpartisan) | 13.7 | 12,278 | |
 | Sharon Johnson-Clayton (Nonpartisan)  | 10.2 | 9,157 | |
| Victoria Nicholls (Nonpartisan) | 3.9 | 3,503 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 410 | ||
| Total votes: 89,618 | |||
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Endorsements
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Virginia elections, 2020
What was at stake?
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About the city
- See also: Chesapeake, Virginia
Chesapeake is a city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is considered a county equivalent. As of 2020, its population was 249,422.
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of Chesapeake uses a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[4]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Chesapeake, Virginia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake | Virginia | |
| Population | 249,422 | 8,631,393 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 338 | 39,481 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 59.7% | 66.3% |
| Black/African American | 29.7% | 19% |
| Asian | 3.4% | 6.7% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.1% |
| Other (single race) | 1.8% | 2.8% |
| Multiple | 5.2% | 4.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 6.5% | 9.5% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 93.2% | 90.3% |
| College graduation rate | 34.6% | 39.5% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $81,261 | $76,398 |
| Persons below poverty level | 7.5% | 10% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Five of 133 Virginia counties—3.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Buckingham County, Virginia | 11.28% | 2.43% | 0.87% | ||||
| Caroline County, Virginia | 5.02% | 8.24% | 11.97% | ||||
| Essex County, Virginia | 2.14% | 7.30% | 10.35% | ||||
| Nelson County, Virginia | 5.59% | 2.72% | 9.15% | ||||
| Westmoreland County, Virginia | 7.14% | 6.95% | 10.24% | ||||
Note: Although it is highlighted in the map above, the city of Chesapeake is not considered a county and not included in our calculations as such.
In the 2016 presidential election, Virginia was a battleground state. Hillary Clinton (D) won Virginia with 49.7 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 44.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic 56.67 percent of the time and Republican 43.33 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic three times (2008, 2012, and 2016) and Republican two times (2000 and 2004).
See also
| Chesapeake, Virginia | Virginia | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ InsideNova, “Northam moves local elections to May 19,” April 24, 2020
- ↑ City of Chesapeake Virginia, “Election Information,” accessed April 28, 2020
- ↑ This change was not due to COVID-19. This deadline was extended after the state's voter registration website crashed.
- ↑ City of Chesapeake, "Plan of Government," accessed August 26, 2014
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