State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Washington D.C.

District of Cannabis: Legislative Tampering in the Nation’s Capital

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By: Randolph Critzer

The nation watched last November as the District of Columbia passed an ordinance legalizing marijuana for private use. The ordinance, passed by referendum, was voted into effect on November 4th, 2014, and went into effect this past February. This creates a bit of a confusing situation for D.C., which, unlike the other 4 jurisdictions that have legalized the drug, still sits at the end of Congress’s leash.

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Standing Aside, D.C. Federal Court May Have to Determine What “After January 1, 2014” Means in D.C. Attorney General Election

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by Brad Tobias, Contributor

When asked, many District of Columbia residents will be quick to point out that the district is not a state, and is subject to the control of Congress, per the U.S. Constitution. The slogan “Taxation without Representation” adorns the city’s vehicle license plates, and it is an issue which fires up many residing in the “202”. While the merits of this question are actively debated, they are not the subject of this modest post. However, one particular consequence of constitutionally-mandated Congressional control over the district is that many laws passed by the D.C. Council, the district’s elected rulemaking body, are subject to congressional approval before they take effect.  While almost all D.C. legislation is approved by Congress – in fact, in the past 40 years Congress has only vetoed D.C. legislation 3 times – there is a congressional review period, and thus a wait-time, of 30 legislative days before D.C. legislation may be approved. This wait time can be critical, especially when elections and election cycles are fixed dates by law. [Read more…] about Standing Aside, D.C. Federal Court May Have to Determine What “After January 1, 2014” Means in D.C. Attorney General Election

Ethics Tightened on D.C. Government

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by Andy McCoy, Contributor

Voters in Washington, DC recently enacted three charter amendments relating to ethics.  Amendment V, which passed with 85% support, would allow the DC Council to expel a member by a 5/6 vote if the Council could demonstrate a gross failure to meet the highest standards of conduct.  Amendments VI and VII, which both passed with over 75% support, would disqualify felons from holding a Council seat or the Mayor’s office.  Amendments VI and VII are both limited in scope as they only disqualify individuals that were convicted of a felony while holding the office.  This would have the effect of immediately expelling a Mayor or Council member upon conviction for any felony and also barring the individual from holding that particular office again.  Interestingly a Council member convicted while serving on the Council would not be disqualified from serving as Mayor and vice versa.  These Amendments would also fail to bar candidates who resigned before conviction from holding the same office again in the future.  [Read more…] about Ethics Tightened on D.C. Government

DC Ballot Access Free-for-All?

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Is it better to leave the legislative process entirely in the hands of the elite or should the public have input? Recently The Washington Examiner reported on the disparity between getting a candidate on the ballot and getting an initiative on the ballot. According to this article, candidates are required to produce less than 4,000 signatures to qualify for ballot entry while initiatives require approximately 23,300 to qualify.  These standards are given in the DC election code. The candidate requirement is set at 2,000 signatures (for city wide board members participating in a primary)—limited to the political party of the candidate—or 1% of the political party, whichever is less.  If the candidate is not participating in a primary election, then the number of signatures is set at 1.5% of the registered voters or 3,000 signatures, whichever is less. Instead of these set numbers, initiatives require signatures from 5% of registered electors, with this list containing at least 5% of the electors from 5 separate wards. [Read more…] about DC Ballot Access Free-for-All?