Strasburg, Va. (WHSV) — Last week, Governor Ralph Northam signed 80 bills into law, ranging from protecting homeowners from foreclosure to changes in local elections beginning next year.
SB 1157 was introduced by Sen. Lionell Spruill, Sr. of Chesapeake and will shift all municipal elections for city and town councils and school boards from May to November, beginning with elections held after January 1, 2022.
Lisa McDonald, the General Registrar for Shenandoah County, said this change will have a big impact on the number of ballots needed and counted for each of the six towns in the county.
Last month, the town of Strasburg passed a resolution requesting the General Assembly to stop the bill. While the town will have to follow suit with the law, some members of the town council still felt the change was not needed.
“It makes absolutely no sense for a group of legislators from Chesapeake to try and enforce on the Shenandoah Valley elections in an area they do not know, do not understand, and probably have never been here,” S. John Massoud, a town council member, said.
Massoud said while he does believe this will help increase voter turnout in November, local issues will be overshadowed by larger races.
“I 100 percent guarantee you that town issues are going to be caught up and lost, and everybody is going to say, ‘Well I heard this guy’s name before I heard that girl’s name. We’ll vote for them because I have no idea of what’s going on,’” Massoud said.
McDonald said local elections in the county are normally done on even years, which means next spring’s election will be the first to be moved to the fall. She said the final May election for the county will be one special election for a town council seat in New Market.
McDonald said the law will still allow for local candidates to run as independents, and that each community will need to adjust term limits. For example, a town mayor’s expiration date is June 30, with the new person coming in on July 1.
However, the bill does state no leaders term should be shortened by the change, and that a current official will remain in office until November.
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March 16, 2021 at 05:25AM
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New law changes some local elections from May to November - WHSV
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