5312998 Elections, Board of - Notice of Final Rulemaking - The amendment establishes the timeframe in which the Board must conduct special elections to fill vacancies

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ELECTIONS

 

NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

 

The District of Columbia Board of Elections, pursuant to the authority set forth in the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955, as amended (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.05(a)(14) (2014 Repl.)), hereby gives notice of final rulemaking action to adopt amendments to Chapter 9 (Filling Vacancies) of Title 3 (Elections and Ethics) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). 

 

The amendment to Chapter 9 establishes the timeframe in which the Board must conduct special elections to fill vacancies. 

 

A Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking with respect to these amendments was published in the D.C. Register on December 12, 2014, at 61 DCR 12638.  No written comments on the proposed rules were received during the public comment period, and no substantive changes have been made to the regulations as proposed. 

 

The Board adopted these rules as final at a regular meeting on Wednesday, February 4, 2015.

These final rules will become effective upon publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

 

Section 910, SPECIAL ELECTIONS, of Chapter 9, FILLING VACANCIES, of Title 3 DCMR, ELECTIONS AND ETHICS, is amended in its entirety to read as follows:

 

910                  SPECIAL ELECTIONS

 

910.1               The D.C. Board of Elections shall conduct a special election in order to elect an individual to serve the unexpired portion of the term of office vacated, except that no special election shall be conducted when:

 

(a)                A vacancy occurs in the office of Delegate on or after May 1st of the last year of the Delegate’s term of office; or

 

(b)               A vacancy occurs in the office of member of the Board of Education on or after February 1st of the last year of the term of the affected office.

 

910.2               At the time of the certification of a vacancy, the Board shall, if applicable, call a special election.  A call for a special election shall include the following:

 

                        (a)        The date upon which the special election is to be held;

 

(b)        The date upon which nomination petition forms will be made available to candidates; and

 

(c)        Other relevant election calendar information.

 

910.3               A special election held pursuant to this chapter shall be held on a Tuesday occurring at least seventy (70) days and not more than  one hundred seventy-four (174) days after the date on which such vacancy occurs, which the Board determines, based on a totality of the circumstances, taking into account, inter alia, cultural and religious holidays and the administrability of the election, will provide the opportunity for the greatest level of voter participation.

 

910.4               Within seven (7) days after the certification of a vacancy, the Board shall make available nomination petition forms to candidates seeking nomination to fill the vacancy.

 

910.5               The qualifications for ballot access of candidates and the rules governing the access in any special election held to fill a vacancy shall be the same as those for direct nomination to the office in any general election, as provided for in D.C. Official Code § 1- 1001.08(j) (2006 Repl.) and Chapter 16 of this title.

 

910.6               All elections provided in this section are special elections, even though the balloting may be at the same time as a previously scheduled primary or general election.