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2019 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 927
Celebrating the life of Charlotte Staples Riddick.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 18, 2019
Agreed to by the Senate, February 21, 2019
 

WHEREAS, Charlotte Staples Riddick, a lifelong Charlottesville resident and a visionary civic leader who became the city’s first general registrar and served generations of voters, died on October 19, 2018; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Riddick was a member of the first graduating class of Charlottesville’s Lane High School and continued her education at Mary Washington College; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Riddick married her husband, Vernon, in 1953, and the couple proudly raised four children; she was a mentor to many young people in the community, instilling in them her passion for community engagement and leadership; and

WHEREAS, in 1971, Charlotte Riddick became the first person appointed to the newly-formed office of general registrar for Charlottesville; a pioneer in the field, she quickly began to digitize the city’s voter rolls; and

WHEREAS, upon the ratification of the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1971, she swiftly and efficiently ensured that the young adults of Charlottesville, 18 years and older, were able to register to vote; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Riddick worked diligently to make voter registration and voting easy and accessible for the members of the community; she launched a campaign in local newspapers to provide information about voting to a wide audience, she borrowed the local library’s bookmobile to visit Charlottesville neighborhoods for voter registration drives, and she helped plan for the implementation of the motor voter system; and

WHEREAS, deeply respected by her peers, Charlotte Riddick served on an advisory committee to the Secretary of the Virginia Board of Elections and was a founding member and two-term president of the Voter Registrars Association of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Riddick retired on June 6, 1994, having faithfully fulfilled her duties as general registrar for 23 years; she continued to serve the community as a volunteer at the Albemarle County Visitors Center near Monticello, delighting guests with her natural charm and knowledge of local history; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by her husband, Vernon, Charlotte Riddick will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her children, David, Dona, Dean, and Debra, and their families, and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Charlotte Staples Riddick, who played a vital role in the democratic process as the first general registrar of Charlottesville; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Charlotte Staples Riddick as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.