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Elections
Last updated on December 02, 2013

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Election Calendar

For information on candidates and campaigns in elections in 2010, see Election 2010

For information on candidates and campaigns in past election, see Election 2006, Election 2004, Election 2002, Election 2000, and Election 1998.

Democratic and Republican Primaries, January 13, 2004

District of Columbia Delegates to the Democratic and Republican party presidential conventions were selected at party caucuses held in February. However, the DC Democratic Party held a non-binding presidential preference “primary” on January 13, 2004. Pursuant to Council Bill 15-492, all “generally recognized” Democratic candidates for president would be listed on that ballot without filing unless they specifically informed the Board of Elections and Ethics that they did not wish to be listed. On November 6, 2003, four candidates filed notices of their withdrawals from that primary: John Edwards, Dick Gebhardt, John Kerry, and Joe Lieberman; on November 7, 2001, Wesley Clark also filed a notice of withdrawal. 

Caucus plans for the Republican and Democratic parties. 

Initiatives, Referenda, Charter Amendments and Recall Petitions

For more information on initiatives and referenda, check the Board of Elections Guide to the Initiative and Referendum Process.

Current Initiatives: 

Petition of recall of Mayor Vince Gray, filed January 11, 2012, by Frederick Butler

Petition of recall of Council Chairman Kwame Brown, filed January 11, 2012, by Frederick Butler

Past Initiatives:

The Marriage Initiative of 2009 was filed on September 2, 2009. 

A Referendum Concerning the Jury and Marriage Amendment Act of 2009 was filed on May 27, 2009, and rejected by the Board on June 6, 2009. 

The Referendum on Certain Provisions of the Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007, Referendum 007, was approved as a proper subject for a referendum on May 22, 2007. Mayor Adrian Fenty successfully  appealed that approval to the DC Superior Court. 

The Video Lottery Terminal Initiative of 2006 has been found by the DC Court of Appeals not to be a proper subject for an initiative. 

Petition for recall of Sharon Ambrose, Ward Six Councilmember, proposed by Mary C. Williams; filed on January 12, 2005; petitions issued by the Board of Elections and Ethics on January 24, 2005.

Initiative 68, The Video Lottery Terminal Initiative of 2004, after a challenge before the Board of Elections an Ethics, was ruled to have failed to gather enough valid signatures to be certified for the ballot. 

Advisory Referendum A, passed by the City Council on July 2, 2002, passed in the general election on November 5, 2002, amended the Home Rule Charter to establish an Office of the District Attorney for the District of Columbia. 

Petition for recall of Anthony A. Williams, Mayor, proposed by Save Our City, filed on January 20, 2004; petitions not submitted.. 

Petition for recall of Jim Graham, Ward One Councilmember, proposed by Lenwood O. Johnson, 627 Columbia Road, NW, filed on January 6, 2004, petition approved by the Board of Elections and Ethics on January 20, 2004; petitions not submitted

Support for a Public Hospital in the Nation’s Capital,” Initiative No. __, was filed with the Board of Elections and Ethics on December 4, 2003. 

Initiative Measure No. 62, “Treatment Instead of Jail for Certain Non-Violent Drug Offenders Initiative of 2002,” passed in the general election on November 5, 2002. 

A Petition for Recall of Anthony A. Williams, Mayor, was filed by Cardell Shelton. It was accepted by the Board of Elections and Ethics, and recall petitions were issued on January 2, 2002. The proponents must gather approximately 33,658 signatures on recall petitions by July 1, 2002, in order to place the matter on a ballot. 

A Petition for Recall of Anthony A. Williams, Mayor, was filed by David Barrows, and was accepted by the Board of Elections and Ethics, and recall petitions were issued, on March 7, 2001. The proponents failed to gather approximately 34,597 signatures on recall petitions by September 4, 2001, in order to place the matter on a ballot.

A Petition for Recall of Anthony A. Williams, Mayor, was filed by Cardell Shelton. It was accepted by the Board and petitions were issued on October 24, 2000. The proponents failed to gather 33,885 signatures on recall petitions by April 13, 2001, in order to place the matter on a ballot.

Charter Amendment III, “The School Governance Charter Amendment Act of 2000,” was passed at a special election June 27, 2000, between the May and September primary elections. The full language of the Amendment is contained in City Council Bill 13-469. The ballot language that was approved by the Board of Elections and Ethics appears here. The rules that govern charter amending procedures are stated in the DC Municipal Regulations, Title 3, Chapter 18, “Charter Amending Procedures.”

A Petition for Recall of Anthony A. Williams, Mayor, was filed by Elijah Gatewood. It was accepted by the Board and petitions were issued on February 28, 2000. The proponents failed to gather sufficient signatures to place the recall initiative on the ballot.

The “Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998,” Initiative Measure No. 59, was a refiling of the same initiative that failed to gather a sufficient number of signatures in 1997; on August 5, 1998, the Board of Elections decided that Initiative Measure No. 59 also failed to gather a sufficient number of signatures. A court appeal required the Board of Elections to reconsider some of the signatures that had been disallowed, and as a result, the initiative appeared on the November 3, 1998, ballot.

The DC appropriations bill passed by Congress forbade the District from expending any funds to hold an election on this issue. Because the ballots had already been printed, they were distributed, and the votes were taken and counted by computer. However, the vote results have not been announced or certified as official. The appropriations bill's prohibition is being challenged in a court suit.

The “District of Columbia Term Limits Initiative,” Initiative Measure No. 49, was passed on November 8, 1994. It limited the Mayor, City Council Members, and members of the Board of Education to serving two consecutive terms in the same position.

Campaign literature in favor of Initiative 59 Campaign literature opposed to Initiative 59

The “Medical Use of Marijuana Initiative of 1998” is now being circulated by its proponents. Its completed petitions must be submitted by November 30, 1998.

On May 6, 1998, the Board of Elections and Ethics considered “Washington DC Blight Control Initiative,” which would mandate that all beverage containers sold in the district be returnable and that deposits be charged on all beverage containers.

An initiative that called for a recall election for Mayor Marion Barry also failed to gather enough signatures to be placed on the ballot; its proponents decided not to file the petitions. One petition, that would  legalize casino gambling, has been refiled numerous times, but is not currently pending.

The  “Initiative to Restrict Privatization, and Sale or Lease of DC Public Assets” and the “D.C. City Council Tensure, Salary, and Conflict of Interest Initiative” were rejected by the Board of Elections and Ethics because of technical flaws in their drafting. The Board of Elections has determined that two other initiatives are not suitable subject matter for an initiative. The proponent is appealing the Board's decision. They are the "Restoration District of Columbia's Elected Officials Powers Mayor, Councilmembers Under the United States Constitutional Rights" and the "Restoration of Power to the District of Columbia Elected Officials Mayor, Councilmember Home Rule" initiatives.

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