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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 3. ELECTIONS AND ETHICS |
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Chapter 3-7. ELECTION PROCEDURES |
Section 3-721. CHALLENGE TO VOTER QUALIFICATIONS: ABSENTEE BALLOTS RECEIVED ELECTRONICALLY OR BY MAIL
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721.1The provisions of this section are inapplicable to absentee ballot requests submitted by covered voters, as that term is defined in D.C. Official Code § 1-1061.02(2).
721.2Challenges to voter qualifications where the voter seeks to cast an absentee ballot by mail shall be conducted according to the procedures of this section. Challenges to the qualifications of an elector who seeks to cast an emergency absentee ballot, as provided under § 719, are specifically exempted. Challenges to a voter’s registration, as described in D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.07(e)(5), may occur only pursuant to § 521.
721.3The Board shall post in its office and on its website a list of all prospective voters who have submitted requests for absentee ballots electronically or by mail for three (3) days beginning on the seventh (7th) day preceding an election.
721.4During the three (3) day posting period, any duly registered voter may challenge the qualifications of any prospective voters who have submitted requests for absentee ballots electronically or by mail.
721.5Any challenge to the qualifications of a prospective voter shall be in writing on a form provided by the Board, and shall indicate the name of the person challenged, the basis for the challenge, and the evidence provided to support the challenge. The challenge form shall be submitted in-person at the Board’s Office.
721.6The challenger shall also sign an affidavit declaring under penalty of perjury that the challenge is based upon substantial evidence which he or she believes in good faith shows that the person challenged is not a qualified elector of the District.
721.7The voter’s signature on the request for an absentee ballot shall serve as an affidavit from the voter that he or she is a qualified elector of the District.
721.8On the same day that the challenge is submitted at the Board’s Office, the absentee ballot official shall review the evidence presented and shall:
(a)Affirm the challenge upon a finding that it is based on substantial evidence specific to the voter being challenged and probative of the challenged voter’s status as a qualified elector, or;
(b)Deny the challenge upon a finding that it is not based on substantial evidence specific to the voter being challenged and probative of the challenged voter’s status as a qualified elector.
721.9The absentee ballot official shall record the decision and the rationale for the decision on a form provided by the Board.
721.10If the absentee ballot official denies the challenge, The absentee ballot official shall inform the challenger that the challenger may appeal the decision to the Board and shall give the challenger copies of the rules regarding challenges and appeals to the Board. Any appeal from a decision to deny the challenge must be made immediately.
721.11If the challenger does not appeal the absentee ballot official’s decision to deny the challenge, the absentee ballot shall be counted as a regular ballot.
721.12If the challenger appeals the absentee ballot official’s decision to deny the challenge, the absentee ballot official shall state the facts of the case to a Board hearing officer authorized to rule on the appeal for the Board.
721.13Either a Board member, the Board’s Executive Director, or the Board’s Registrar of Voters official may serve as the Board’s hearing officer for the appeal.
721.14The hearing shall be recorded and transcribed, and the transcript shall serve as the official case record, along with the written documentation of the absentee ballot official’s initial decision to deny the challenge.
721.15The hearing officer shall take testimony under oath from the challenger, the challenged voter (if available), the absentee ballot official, and any witnesses who wish to testify.
721.16Each person who testifies before the hearing officer shall state for the record their name as recorded on the board’s voter registration list, their residence address, mailing address and telephone number, and their role in the challenge.
721.17The hearing officer shall receive evidence and testimony and shall then close the hearing.
721.18After reviewing all evidence pertaining to the challenge and making a decision based upon his or her determination of whether the challenger has presented substantial evidence that is specific to the voter being challenged and probative of the challenged voter’s status as a qualified elector, the hearing officer shall either:
(a) Affirm the absentee ballot official’s decision to deny the challenge, in which case the challenged voter’s absentee ballot shall be counted as a regular ballot; or
(b) Overturn the absentee ballot official’s decision to deny the challenge, in which case the challenged voter’s absentee ballot and envelope shall be considered a special ballot and envelope.
721.19If the absentee ballot official affirms the challenge, or if the Board’s hearing officer overturns the decision of the absentee ballot official to deny a challenge, the voter’s absentee ballot and envelope shall be considered a special ballot and envelope, marked as such, and handled pursuant to §§ 714 and 715.