Photo by Jacques Arsenault.

Photo by Jacques Arsenault.

Live updates by Sarah Anne Hughes and Matt Cohen

7:30 p.m.

Our election night post is up.

7 p.m.

With one hour before the polls close, anecdotes point to higher turnout than April’s dismal primary.

Anyone in line by 8 p.m. will be able to vote.

5 p.m.

Today, D.C. residents were, for the first time ever, given the opportunity to vote for an attorney general. The man responsible for making that vote happen is attorney Paul Zukerberg, who sued the D.C. Council for an attorney general election to be held this year.

“So far it’s been great,” Zukerberg said as he campaigned outside of the Franklin D. Reeves Municipal Center this evening. “We’re coming to an end, it’s been a 15-month journey.” Despite Zukerberg’s diligent efforts to ensure an attorney general election this year, a September poll showed that an overwhelming amount of voters are undecided on who to vote for. Still, Zukerberg led that poll with 14 percent of likely voters.

If things don’t go in Zukerberg’s favor today, he said that he’s unlikely to run again for attorney general. “I feel like whatever’s going to be is going to be,” he said. “It’s in the hands of the voters now, which is what I was trying to do.”

4:12 p.m.

While we won’t have complete turnout numbers until the provisional ballots are counted, people are tweeting current ballot counts at precincts across the city.

At 660 K Street NE:

700 Constitution Avenue NE:

Do you love informal polls? So do we! Tell us if you voted early or today, or plan to later.

Are you a D.C. resident who voted early or on election day?
Yes
No
Not yet, but I’m going to

Poll Maker

4 p.m.

After a primary plagued with issues, the D.C. Board of Elections appears to be handling issues that arise in a timely manner. Of course, there were still issues.

3:20 p.m.

“Meet Carol Schwartz right here! Go to the polls and vote! Number fiiiiive on the ballot!”

A man with a megaphone announced the arrival of former Councilmember Carol Schwartz to Miner Elementary School in her signature yellow Trans Am. Two men in a taxicab yelled her name as they drove by. “We voted for you!” one yelled.

“That’s the kind of reaction we’ve been getting all day,” Schwartz said as she approached a small number of parents picking up their children. “It’s encouraging. I can’t say I’m going to run away with it.”

2:20 p.m.

David Catania arrived at Eastern Market to waiting press and two eager volunteers.

“We’ve been on a tour of the city,” the Independent candidate said. “We’ve had a terrific response. A lot of people are responding nicely to the message that we’ve been communicating for the last eight months, which is, it’s time to end business as usual at city hall. I’ve offered myself as a contrast to my principle opponent, and people have responded nicely.”

When asked how he would bring people opposed to the first non-Democrat mayor-elect since home rule, Catania said he’s represented the interests of the whole city for 17 years as an At-Large Councilmember. “We’re all on the same side,” he said. “We all want to make this city better.”

2 p.m.

Muriel Bowser arrived at Eastern Market around 1 p.m. for lunch at Tunnicliff’s Tavern, first greeting people gathered on the plaza, even David Catania volunteers.

A supporter of Initiative 71, Bowser said she would take getting marijuana legalization through Congress “one step at a time” with “accessible regulations.” She departed Eastern Market 30 minutes before David Catania is scheduled to stop by.

Charle Allen, the Democratic nominee for Ward 6 Council, was out campaigning, despite the extreme likelihood that he will be elected. “We obviously feel very confident,” he said, adding that he didn’t want voters to think he took their support for granted.

Allen is planning to vote this afternoon when he picks his daughter up from school, casting a ballot of Bowser and At-Large candidate Elissa Silverman.

1:40 p.m.

At her campaign headquarters on 14th and Florida Street NW, Brianne Nadeau is calm and collected. And why shouldn’t she be? In the April primary, Nadeau defeated incumbent Jim Graham for the democratic nomination as Ward 1 Councilmember. “I’m certainly feeling better than I did in April,” she said of today’s election. “We’ve been spending the [interim] time really laying the groundwork for this election.”

Though Nadeau is running against Libertarian candidate John Vaught LaBeaume and Independent candidate Ernest E. Jo, she’s heavily favored to win the election tonight. When asked if she’s supporting any other candidates in the race, she’s replied with the two endorsements she’s already made, Muriel Bowser for mayor and incumbent Anita Bonds for an At-Large Council seat.

Later tonight, Nadeau will host a election watch party down the street at Marvin. “Most of the parties [tonight] are happening in Ward 1,” she said, “because it’s the best Ward.”

1:20 p.m.

“What I don’t want is a bunch of people lighting up in celebration at 11th and Park Road NW, or something,” says Cannabis Campaign chairman Adam Eidinger. He’s outside of the Marie Reed Community Learning Center in Adams Morgan checking the numbers.

Though all the polls show that Initiative 71 is likely to pass, Eidinger isn’t taking any chances. “I convinced a 70-year-old woman to vote yes on 71 today,” he said. But the question that lingers is what the D.C. Council is going to do if 71 passes. Last week, the Council held a hearing on a marijuana taxation and regulation bill introduced by Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) that Eidinger says made him feel very confident about what will happen with his Initiative. He estimates that marijuana, with taxation and regulation, could be legalized and available in D.C. by September of 2016.

But Initiative 71 has its opponents T.I.E.D.C. (Two Is Enough D.C.) recently launched a campaign against marijuana legalization, campaigning that alcohol and tobacco is enough. While they support decriminalization, they feel that marijuana legalization sends the wrong message to kids. And Eidinger agrees. “They actually have a lot of good points,” Eidinger said. “A lot of their arguments I found myself nodding in agreement…but their point doesn’t lead to the logical conclusion that marijuana should be legal.”

12:15 p.m.

Elissa Silverman, one of the 15 candidates for two At-Large Council seats, was dining at Tortilla Cafe with her campaign manager when, who should appear but one of her opponents, Eugene Puryear. The two exchanged a hug.

Silverman, who lost by a narrow margin to Democrat Anita Bonds during a special 2013 election, appears to be poised to win the second seat, but she wasn’t counting her chickens before they hatched.

Silverman said she’s seen “lots of encouraging indicators,” including lots of support in Ward 4. “We’ve had a strong presence in every word,” she said, adding that she’s run a citywide campaign.

“I lost once,” she said, explaining that she hasn’t started making plans for January. “We are focused on the campaign until 8 p.m. tonight.”

Both candidates, who were joined by Ward 6 State Board of Education candidate Joe Weedon and ANC 6C01 commissoner Keith Silver, declined to say if they cast a second vote for the At-Large candidate.

According to Silver, 583 paper, 110 electronic and 63 provisional ballots were cast at Eastern Market as of noon.

11:20 a.m.

Have you voted yet? Planning to vote? Good. Celebrate your right to vote by watching the results come in at a bar tonight. It’s what D.C. does best. As such, here’s a list of all the watch parties (hosted by candidates) and places that are showing election results in the city tonight. This list we’ll be continually updated throughout the day, so be sure to check back.

11:10 a.m.

Also outside Eastern Market this morning was Tim Krepp, an Independent candidate for D.C. Delegate. “Shocked. Shocked!” Krepp joked of people who say we may not be able to defeat incumbent Democrat Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton. “I admit there is a slight chance that I may not win this race.”

But while Krepp would love to be elected, he said running was about more than that: “To get us to take this seriously.” Indeed, while volunteers from mayoral, Council, attorney general and ANC campaigns were represented at Eastern Market, there wasn’t even a sign representing Norton’s campaign.

“There should be no free ride,” he said.

11 a.m.

Outside Eastern Market, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, who was defeated by Bowser in the Democratic primary, wore her campaign baseball cap and stumped for the candidate.

“I trust and support her,” Wells said of Bowser, adding that she “has the great sensitivity for representing the whole city.”

Wells was also excited about the likely prospect that his former chief of staff, Charles Allen, will be elected to his Ward 6 Council seat. Wells said it made leaving the position easier knowing that Allen will build on “what we’ve accomplished.” As for his own plans after January, Wells didn’t divulge any information: “We’ll see.”

Photo by Sarah Anne Hughes.

Attorney general candidate Edward “Smitty” Smith also campaigned outside the historic Capitol Hill market, saying he was “excited to see the enthusiasm” from voters. “We saw very strong turnout with the early voting,” he said. “For me, the more voters the better.”

The race, the first of its kind in D.C., has been marked by low interest from voters, many of whom remained undecided in the polls. Smith said he’s tried to connect with voters personally. “You can have the money in the world, all the mailers in the world,” he said.” But if you’re not actually reaching out and talking to people in the community, then that process won’t have any effect.”

10 a.m.

While it may be tempting to take advantage of some of the deals being offered today for wearing an “I Voted” sticker, it’s most likely illegal, according to federal and D.C. law.

9:14 a.m.

Among the many candidates D.C. voters will have the opportunity to vote for today isn’t a candidate at all, but a ballot initiative. Initiative 71 proposes the legalize the possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana.

For more than a year, the D.C. Cannabis Campaign—led by chairman Adam Eidinger—has been diligently working to draft their initiative and ensure that it got on the ballot today. Though the latest poll show that the Initiative 71 will likely pass, don’t expect to start lighting up tomorrow. It could be a while before marijuana legalization will become law in D.C.

The D.C. Cannabis Campaign will be holding an election watch party tonight at Meridian Pint, starting at 8 p.m. Details (along with other watch parties) here.

8:20 a.m.

For the first time, D.C. voters will be able to elect an attorney general after a long legal battle led by one of the candidates, Paul Zukerberg.

Zukerberg will face Lorie Masters, Karl Racine, Edward “Smitty” Smith and Lateefah Williams at the polls today. The candidates explained why the election mattered and why they are the best candidate to DCist.

7:40 a.m.

As the D.C. Board of Elections said on Twitter, lines will be heaviest before and after the work day.

If you want to get out faster, use the tip below: Opt for a paper ballot.

7:30 a.m.

DCision14 day is upon us. The polls are open, the early voter turnout was strong and supporters are confident this day is not going to end in disappointment.

After a pre-dawn rally in Navy Yard, Councilmember Muriel Bowser voted at the LaSalle-Backus Education Campus.

Councilmember David Catania, closest to his Democratic opponent in the polls, voted at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish in Dupont Circle.

Still undecided? Read our interviews with Bowser, Catania and Carol Schwartz.

You can also get a rundown of where the mayoral and At-Large candidates stand on the issues. Or read why the city’s first attorney general candidates think you should vote for them. Finally, here’s our analysis of what may happen if Initiative 71, which would legalize marijuana for private use, passes.


Filed Under: carol schwartz, david catania, dcision14, muriel bowser,