The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. The islands have a tropical climate.
Politics of the United States Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic dependency, whereby the governor is the head of the territory's government, and of a multi-party system. United States Virgin Islands are an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior. Executive power is exercised by the local government of the Virgin Islands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The "Virgin Islands March" is the regional anthem of the United States Virgin Islands. The song was composed by Sam Williams and U.S. Virgin Island native Alton Adams in the 1920s. It served as an unofficial regional anthem of the U.S. Virgin Islands until 1963, when it was officially recognized by Legislative Act.
U.S. states, districts, and territories have representative symbols that are recognized by their state legislatures, territorial legislatures, or tradition. Some, such as flags, seals, and birds have been created or chosen by all U.S. polities, while others, such as state crustaceans, state mushrooms, and state toys have been chosen by only a few.
Elections in the U.S. Virgin Islands are held to elect senators to the Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the governor and lieutenant governor of the territory, and a delegate to the United States House of Representatives.
The Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands is a political party in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and is affiliated with the Democratic Party at the nationwide level. It won the gubernatorial election of 2022 when the incumbent Democratic governor Albert Bryan was elected with 56 percent of the vote. In the last lesiglative election in November 2024, the party won 12 out of 15 seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. Out of 30,000 active registered voters in the U.S. Virgin Islands, approximately 20,000 voters are registered Democrats.
The coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands consists of a green escutcheon (shield) charged with a woman in a white dress and gold-coloured sandals, holding a lit golden oil lamp and surrounded by eleven other golden lamps. Adopted shortly after the islands became a Crown colony, it has been the coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands since 1960. The escutcheon dates from the early 19th century and is featured on the flag of the territory. The woman and the lamps represent Saint Ursula and her companions, the namesake of the islands.
The House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, until 2007 known as the Legislative Council, has 15 members: 13 directly elected for four-year terms, and two ex officio members.
The Legislature of the Virgin Islands is the territorial legislature of the United States Virgin Islands. The legislative branch of the unincorporated U.S. territory is unicameral, with a single house consisting of 15 senators, elected to two-year terms without term limits. The legislature meets in Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas.
The District Court of the Virgin Islands is a United States territorial court with jurisdiction over federal and diversity actions in the United States Virgin Islands, a United States territory and more specifically an insular area that is an unincorporated organized territory. The court sits in both St. Croix and St. Thomas. Unlike their counterparts on other United States district courts, judges on the District Court of the Virgin Islands do not have life tenure, as the court is not an Article III court. Instead, the court is an Article IV court, created pursuant to Congress's Article IV, Section 3 powers. Judges serve for terms of ten years at a time, and until a successor is chosen and qualified. Appeals of the court's decisions are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the United States insular area of the United States Virgin Islands:
The United States Virgin Islands general election was held on November 2, 2010. Voters chose the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, the non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives and all fifteen seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. The election coincided with the 2010 United States general election.
The United States Virgin Islands general election was held on 4 November 2014. Voters chose the non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives, all fifteen seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, and the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands.
Cannabis in the United States Virgin Islands is legal for recreational use since January 18, 2023, under territorial law. Legislation to legalize was passed by the territorial legislature in 2022, and was signed into law on January 18. Medical use was legalized in 2019 through a bill that passed the Senate 9–4. It remains illegal under federal law.
The United States Virgin Islands general election was held on November 8, 2016. Voters chose the delegate to the United States House of Representatives and all fifteen seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands.
Tregenza A. Roach is an American politician, attorney, and former journalist. Since 2019, Roach has been serving as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. Roach previously was a senator at the Legislature of the Virgin Islands from 2013 to 2019.
Carol Thomas-Jacobs (1968/1969) is a judge on the United States Virgin Islands Superior Court. She was the acting Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands in from January to April 2023.
