VIRGINIA BEACH — A federal lawsuit that led the city to change to its election system is once again in play as Virginia Beach prepares to hold a referendum vote on how it elects its City Council and School Board members.

On Monday, Judge Raymond Jackson, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, rescinded his previous dismissal of the Holloway v. City of Virginia Beach case and plans to issue a memorandum and opinion on the matter later this week.

Two Virginia Beach residents – Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen — sued the city in 2017, challenging the all at-large election system used to elect members of the City Council. Jackson ruled in 2021 that the system “denies Hispanics, African Americans and Asians equal access to the electoral and political process,” violating the federal 1965 Voting Rights Act. After that, the city began using a district-based electoral system that did away with all at-large seats except the mayor.

Jackson’s ruling on the lawsuit comes as several well-connected business and community associations have pushed the idea of restoring some at-large seats on the council, and city lawmakers voted last month to include the question on a November ballot referendum.

Deputy City Attorney Christopher Boynton confirmed in an email Monday afternoon that Jackson’s ruling has set the stage for the case to be reopened.

“The court vacated the prior dismissal order in the former Holloway case upon plaintiffs’ motion and is allowing the plaintiffs to file an Amended Complaint asserting whatever claims they believe are currently meritorious,” Boynton said.

Virginia Beach appealed Jackson’s initial ruling in 2021. While awaiting the court’s opinion, the city implemented 10 single-member districts, including three districts where minority voters formed a majority of the voting population.

In July 2022, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the case was moot because Virginia’s General Assembly had already passed a law, HB2198, eliminating at-large voting for most of the seats on the City Council. Jackson later dismissed Holloway’s case but allowed for it to be brought back.

“The former dismissal was a voluntary, non-prejudicial dismissal so they didn’t waive any rights at the time by agreeing to the dismissal,” Boynton said.

Jackson’s decision on Monday to rescind the voluntary dismissal allows Holloway to challenge a potential hybrid election system, Holloway’s attorney Simone Leeper wrote in an email.

“Plaintiffs now will have the opportunity to amend their complaint to challenge the 7-3-1 system currently reflected in the City Charter as amended by HB2198,” Leeper said, referencing a system that includes seven district seats, three at-large seats, and the mayor.

Under the current “10-1” system, the mayor is elected by residents across the city, but the 10 council members are elected only by residents in their district.

Virginia Beach has used the district-based election system since 2022, and the City Council formally adopted a redistricting plan in 2023 that authorized the use of the system. However, the city charter doesn’t yet align with it, and previous efforts to enshrine the 10-1 system into law have been held up because of legal challenges.

In May, seven of 11 council members voted in favor of a charter change referendum on the election system to be placed on the November ballot to gauge the public’s interest in keeping the 10-1 system. The referendum question will ask voters whether they want to keep the current single-member district system or if they support a system with some at-large seats on council.

In a motion filed in April seeking to reopen the lawsuit, Holloway’s attorneys cited the referendum. They argued action was necessary “because the City is no longer fulfilling its representation to this Court to take all steps necessary to maintain a 10-1 system and is actively seeking to evade this Court’s jurisdiction over any claim by the Holloway Plaintiffs that implementing the 7-3-1 system would violate Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act (“VRA”).”

The referendum could open the door to a modified 7-3-1 system, in which three council members would serve in at-large seats and all residents could vote for them. Under that system, the remaining seven members would be elected by residents only in their district.

In 2023, the city’s legal team warned Virginia Beach could face renewed litigation in federal court if it chooses not to stick with the current ward-based election system.