VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach NAACP held a town hall calling for the city to stand behind the current 10-1 voting system, which is expected to be voted on by City Council Tuesday.

Virginia Beach NAACP President Dr. Eric Majette on Monday encouraged attendees to speak up in support ahead of the vote.

“We are saying that the citizens has already spoken,” Majette said. “The city has spent tons of money in a survey educating people prior to voting for this, and now it’s time to pivot and move forward.”

According to the Virginia Beach website, the 10-1 system divides the city into 10 districts of equal voting age. Each voter votes for only one mayor and the representative for their ward district. Majette believes the current system allows for a diverse representation.

“The 10-1 voting system allowed us to have the most diverse city council in the history of the city of Virginia Beach and also brought a sense of awareness to the representatives of each district,” Majette said. “We didn’t have to waste thousands and thousands of dollars to run a citywide campaign that could run a district campaign and make it more competitive as well as more diverse.”

Councilwoman Barbara Henley said that following the last election, people saw that they want a different system in place.

“I think it was kind of an eye-opener for people,” Henley said. “And I think now that folks have had the opportunity to just see and understand what they have lost, I’m hearing a lot of push back from the public, [who] could feel that they were not given the opportunity to comment or to vote on it.” 

Henley believes that voters lose their rights without a referendum.

“To do it without a voter referendum is bypassing the public’s opportunity to even have input,” Henley said. “This is a very big change. And a change of this magnitude demands a voter referendum.”

Majette said if the vote doesn’t go in their favor, “we’re going to fight and we’re going to fight. And we’re going to fight and we’re going to fight until we win.”