Posted on

NOTICE OF PROCEDURES – City Council Nominations

NOTICE OF PROCEDURES FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 2024 NOMINATIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE LYNCHBURG CITY COUNCIL

  1. Candidates may be nominated in each of the four City Council wards.
  2. Each candidate must be a registered voter in the ward where he or she seeks to be nominated, and meet other qualifications stated on the Virginia Elections Department Web site. https://www.elections.virginia.gov/candidatepac-info/

3  Candidates for these nominations must file no earlier than 12:00 Noon on Monday, March 18, 2024 and no later than 5:00 PM on Thursday, April 4, 2024.

  1. A complete filing package includes:

(a) A Declaration of Candidacy.

(b) The original receipt from the Lynchburg City Treasurer for payment of the primary filing fee.

(c) Petitions of Qualified Voters signed by at least 125 voters registered in the ward where the candidate seeks to be nominated, with the notarized signature of the circulator of each petition form. Petition circulators must personally witness each voter’s signature. Each form must have the “Democratic Primary” box checked and the primary date of the 18th day of June 2024 filled in.

(d) The forms for the Declaration of Candidacy, the Petitions of Qualified Voters, other required forms, instructions, and additional information are on the Virginia  Elections Department Web site under candidate forms:  https://www.elections.virginia.gov/candidatepac-info/candidate-forms/

  1. Use a notary who uses an inked stamp, NOT a notary who uses a clamp that leaves a raised impression on the paper.
  2. The complete filing package must be filed in person with the Lynchburg Democratic Committee Chair, Denise Tuttle.
  3. Candidates must contact Denise Tuttle by email at denisengregory2@gmail.com starting at 9 AM on Friday, March 15, 2024 to arrange the time and location for filing in person.
  4. By the time of filing, each candidate must inform Denise Tuttle of his or her personal email address, candidate campaign committee’s email address, and cell and landline phone numbers.
  5. Candidates are responsible for obtaining and complying with the official rules and guidance for nominations and candidacy on the Virginia Elections Department web site https://www.elections.virginia.gov/candidatepac-info/

and for submitting forms to that Department and to the Lynchburg General Registrar. Pay special attention to the Local Offices Candidate Bulletin under candidate bulletins: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/candidatepac-info/candidate-bulletins/

  1. The following are not official rules or guidance. They are only suggestions for candidates:

(a) File as early as possible within the March 18-April 4 window above.

(b) Obtain more than 125 signatures on petitions, to allow for the possibility that some of the signers might not be qualified voters registered in the ward. The Virginia Elections Department recommends 50% more than the minimum.

(c) Petition circulators should ask each signer to CLEARLY PRINT the signer’s name, street address, and date signed.

  1. Any changes to this notice will be posted at lynchburgdemocrats.org (the Web site of the Lynchburg Democratic Committee). Candidates should check this Web site for any changes before filing.

updated February 26, 2024

Posted on

Good News: Our State Redistricting Goal Achieved!

Hello Lynchburg Democrats,

As you may know, we strongly lobbied the Virginia Redistricting Commission to reverse the gerrymander of Lynchburg that took place 10 years ago.

GOOD NEWS!  Our efforts have paid off. Lynchburg has been put into ONE Senate district and ONE House district.  Lynchburg now has more power to hold its legislators accountable.  We are now part of VA Senate District 8 and VA House of Delegates District 52. These changes are effective for the elections in 2023.  In addition, Lynchburg is now part of the 5th Congressional District along with Charlottesville.

As you may know, Lynchburg was divided into two different state senatorial districts (Senate Districts 22 & 23) and into two different HOD districts  (HOD District 22 & 23).  To make things worse, these districts did not overlap much, therefore Lynchburg residents had four confusing possible combinations of Senate or House representation.  This division was extremely confusing for Lynchburg voters, and made it difficult to hold any legislator accountable for policies that affected Lynchburg.

Incidentally, the Lynchburg City Council will start redrawing precinct maps soon, probably by April.

Jack G. Underwood
Organizational Secretary, 4th Ward Chair, 404 Precinct Captain
Lynchburg Democratic Committee