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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 3. ELECTIONS AND ETHICS |
Section 3-1606. PETITION CHALLENGES
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1606.1The Executive Director or his or her designee shall post nominating petitions, or facsimiles thereof, in the Board’s office for public inspection and opportunity for challenge for ten (10) days, including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, beginning on the third (3rd) calendar day after the petition-filing deadline required by law.
1606.2Except as provided in this section, the Board shall adjudicate the validity of each properly filed challenge in accordance with the procedures prescribed in chapter 4 of this title. A challenge is properly filed if it:
(a) Cites the alleged signature or circulator requirement defects, as set forth in the signature validity rules of this chapter, by line and page;
(b) Is signed and submitted in-person at the Board’s office by a qualified elector within the ten (10)-day posting period; and
(c) Alleges the minimum number of signature defects which, if valid, would render the prospective candidate ineligible for ballot access.
1606.3Within three (3) working days of receipt of a properly filed challenge, the General Counsel or his or her designee shall serve a copy of the challenge upon the candidate in-person, by first-class mail, or email.
1606.4After the receipt of a properly filed challenge, the Board’s staff shall search the Board’s registration records to prepare a recommendation to the Board as to the validity of the challenge. The scope of the search shall be limited to matters raised in the challenge. In the event Board staff discovers a fatal defect either on the face of a petition or pursuant to a record search concerning a specific allegation or challenge, the Board may, on its own motion, declare any signature(s) invalid, notwithstanding the defect was not alleged or challenged; alternatively, the Board, in its discretion, may waive any formal error.
1606.5The Board shall receive evidence in support of and in opposition to the challenge and shall rule on the validity of the challenge no more than twenty (20) days after the challenge has been filed. The Board shall consider any other evidence as may be submitted, including but not limited to, documentary evidence, affidavits, and oral testimony.
1606.6The Board, in view of the fact that it shall hear and determine the validity of the challenge within a limited time, may limit examination and cross-examination of witnesses to the following:
(a)Objections and specifications of such objections, if any, to the nominating petition; and
(b)Objections and specifications of such objections, if any, to the petition challenge.
1606.7Based upon the evidence received, the Board shall either reject or uphold the challenge, and accordingly grant or deny ballot access to the candidate whose petition was challenged.
1606.8If a one (1)-member Board panel makes a determination on the validity of a challenge, either the challenger or any person named in the challenged petition as a nominee may apply to either the full Board or the District of Columbia Court of Appeals for a review of such determination within three (3) days after the announcement of the one (1)-member panel determination; provided that any appeal to the full Board must be made in time to permit the Board to resolve the matter by no later than twenty (20) days after the challenge has been filed. An appeal from a full Board determination to the Court of Appeals shall be made within three (3) days.
1606.9If at the expiration of the challenge period referred to in this section, no challenge has been filed with respect to a nominating petition, the Executive Director, or his or her designee, shall certify the candidate, and the candidate’s name shall be printed on the ballot.