Photo by Jacques Arsenault
Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who heads the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, introduced a bill today that would give D.C. a consistent primary election date.
While D.C. law states that the city’s primary should take place on the first Tuesday in September, city officials have instead designated election dates in April and June for the past six years to avoid breaking a federal law, which requires that overseas voters receive general-election ballots at least 45 days before election day.
Councilmember Allen’s Primary Date Alteration Amendment Act of 2017 proposes the date be permanently changed to the third Tuesday in June, starting with next year’s election, which includes the mayoral race.
The 2018 primary election date is currently scheduled for September 4, 2018. But D.C. Board of Elections officials told the councilmember that the department won’t meet the federal requirement before the November general election, according to a release from Allen’s office.
“As the chair of the committee with oversight, I take the risk of violating federal election law very seriously,” Councilmember Allen said the release, adding that moving the date to June gives officials enough time to certify results and “allows for due process for any challenges before the necessary preparations for the general election need to begin.”
He also said that the June 19 primary date won’t interfere with schedules at schools (which account for most polling sites) and the two-week early voting period won’t be interrupted by Memorial Day weekend.
The councilmember told The Washington Post that he chose June rather than earlier months so candidates can have more time during the spring for campaigning, not just the colder months. “It’s really hard to be able to talk to voters… in the dead of winter,” he said.
During the April primary election in 2014—when Muriel Bowser won the Democratic primary and effectively the general election over a crowded field—turnout was just 22.5 percent, the lowest in two decades.
