VIRGINIA BEACH
The City Council and School Board may not be able to return local elections to May even if they want to.
Immediately after the city's first November election for local office, the second-guessing began. Most members of both groups said the new date, approved by the council in 2006, helped introduce partisanship into the election. Many also felt the local races were overshadowed by national campaigns.
Board member Carolyn Weems agreed Tuesday to draft a letter the School Board could send to the council next month requesting it return the election to May.
But the board and the city may be stuck, said deputy city attorney Kamala Lannetti. Not only would Virginia Beach need General Assembly approval to amend the city charter, but the council would also need permission from the U.S. Department of Justice under the Voting Rights Act.
Their application two years ago argued the change would produce a higher voter turnout. It did. "We will have to prove why minority voters couldn't come out and get the result they wanted," Lannetti said. "That will be hard to do."
Seventy percent of the city's voters - 201,577 - cast ballots Nov. 4, but about a third skipped the School Board races. Only 17 percent showed up to vote in the previous local election in May 2006.
Weems said the School Board needs to speak out against the new election date, which puts new board members in office in the middle of a school and budget year. She said local elections would get more attention in May.
Board Chairman Dan Edwards said the board should send letters to political parties asking them to keep out of local elections, which are supposed to be nonpartisan.
Council members did not discuss the election at their meeting, but two speakers called on them to leave the elections in November.
"It's wrong, it's dead wrong, to disenfranchise people," said Carl Wright, a Virginia Beach NAACP leader.
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disenfranchise?
""It's wrong, it's dead wrong, to disenfranchise people," said Carl Wright, a Virginia Beach NAACP leader."
How would moving elections back to May (which I'm against, btw) disenfranchise anyone? Turnouts in May were low because people couldn't be bothered to vote. But this is the second time I've heard it implied that minority votes won't be counted in a May election. Why??
That's easy
Why would the school board and city want the election date reverted back to May when the average percentage of voters casting ballots was 17% as opposed to November, when the percentage of voters participating this past election was at an all time high of 70%?
That's easy. Usually the bigger the turnout, the less informed the vote is. Basically you have a whole lot of people that are going because of millions spent on marketing. It's pretty much the "American Idol" of elections. The people that come out to vote without the mass marketing are doing so because they're interested in politics and know the issues.
The question is do you want your city leaders being chosen by a partisan mass market personality contest or by people paying attention to the issues?
Henry Was Right
I had said The Voting Rights Act of 1965 would derail a move back to May.
With that absurd notion dead, let's take on real electoral reform; scuttling the obscene at-large voting system.
Voting Date
For crying out loud...."LEAVE IT ALONE." The voters like it. Put it on a referendum or shut up about it, it's not the board or council's choice...it's mine!
Disenfranchisement?
In the age of early voting and/or absentee ballots, there are very reasons for not being able to vote.
Disenfranchisement? Not. I think it'd be better to hold elections in for this matter in May. Those who take voting seriously and provide the time to vote, are more likely to review candidates vice vote party lines, vote for the person on the top of the ballot, or simply the incumbent.
Partisanship? Or Someting Uglier?
Why would the school board and city want the election date reverted back to May when the average percentage of voters casting ballots was 17% as opposed to November, when the percentage of voters participating this past election was at an all time high of 70%?
Sounds as if they prefer the idea of the 17% small minority of the city choosing the government for the vast majority. That pesky democracy! Here's an idea: be HAPPY that people are participating in their government, not decrying it!