2019 United States Virgin Islands electoral system referendum


A referendum on amending the electoral system for the Legislature was held in the United States Virgin Islands on March 30, 2019. Although the proposal was approved by 75% of voters, voter turnout was below 10%, invaliding the result.

Background

The referendum was a popular initiative put forward by the St. Croix Government Retirees organization. In order for the initiative to go to a referendum, the organization was required to collect the signatures of at least 10% of registered voters in the two electoral districts, St Croix and St Thomas/St John. They collected 2,343 signatures in St Croix and 2,553 in St Thomas/St John, meaning that the proposal would be put to a public vote.
In order for the referendum result to be valid, a majority would need to vote in favour of the proposal and voter turnout be above 50%.

Proposals

Prior to the referendum, the 15 members of the Legislature consisted of fourteen members elected from two seven-member districts and one at-large member. The proposals would see both St Croix and St Thomas divided into two two-member districts, while St John would be a single-member district. Three at-large members would also be elected from both St Croix and St Thomas.

Results