Activists trying to strip out the influence of corporate money in D.C. political campaigns received a setback today when the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled they did not present enough valid signatures to earn their petition a slot on November’s ballot.

The petition, known as Initiative 70, is the work of D.C. Public Trust and spearheaded by Bryan Weaver, the Ward 1 activist and former D.C. Council candidate. The petition needed the signatures of five percent of D.C.’s registered voters—23,298, to be exact—to secure ballot access.

D.C. Public Trust turned in 30,356 signatures in July. But after a month-long review, BOEE officials tossed out nearly 9,000, setting the number of valid signatures at 21,572. That puts D.C. Public Trust 1,726 votes short of the threshold.

Additionally, BOEE rules stipulate that in order to receive a place on a District-wide ballot, Initiative 70 be signed by five percent of voters in at least five of the citys eight wards. D.C. Public Trust thought it had secured six wards, but today the board ruled that the threshold had not been met in wards 2 and 5. After the review, D.C. Public Trust came up 338 signatures short in Ward 2 and 351 in Ward 5.

More than one-third of the invalidated signatures, though, are address mismatches, according to D.C. Public Trust spokeswoman Elissa Silverman. Many who signed the petition were discounted because, Silverman says, they might have moved since their most recent voter registration and written their new address on Initiative 70 without updating BOEE.

D.C. Public Trust has 10 days to appeal the ruling, during which time Silverman says the group will seek to validate as many signatures discounted because of address mismatches as possible.

“What we can do is review the signatures that were invalid and try to validate them,” she says. “This is how it’s been done with candidates. Get people to submit a change of address.”

Silverman adds that her group’s lawyer is also talking to the board about how the ruling can be appealed and potentially reversed.

In the mean time, though, making up 1,726 signatures in 10 days will be a steep climb, though Silverman is optimistic the gap can be closed.

“Basically, we have the right amount of signatures,” she says. “Those people are registered to vote, they’re just not at the address they say their at. This is really a technical paperwork issue. Can we mount an effort to find these people in 10 days? It’s not going to be easy.”

D.C. Public Trust’s press release:

D.C. PUBLIC TRUST WILL REVIEW ELECTIONS BOARD RULING ON INITIATIVE 70
Residents Group Will Engage in Vigorous Examination to Validate
Signatures Over Next 10 Days

WASHINGTON, D.C. – D.C. Public Trust, a grassroots organization of
residents from all eight wards of the District, said it will continue
its effort to place Initiative 70 on the November 6, 2012, general
election ballot by reviewing today’s determination by the D.C. Board
of Elections and by working to validate signatures the board ruled
invalid. In a meeting earlier today, the elections board said the
group did not submit a sufficient number of valid signatures of
registered voters to qualify Initiative 70 for the ballot.

D.C. Public Trust has 10 days to file a challenge of the elections
board ruling in D.C. Superior Court. During that 10-day period,
volunteers and lawyers with D.C. Public Trust will be reviewing the
signatures the D.C. Board of Elections ruled invalid for reasons
including that the signer was not registered with the board at the
address indicated on the initiative petition. D.C. Public Trust said
it plans a vigorous effort to review the signatures.

If approved by voters, Initiative 70 would prohibit businesses and
corporations from making direct campaign donations from their
companies to candidates for office in the District.

In order to qualify for the ballot, supporters of an initiative are
required to submit the signatures of at least 5 percent of registered
voters in the District, which totals 23,298 voters, and meet the 5
percent threshold in at least five of the city’s eight wards. On July
9, D.C. Public Trust handed in 30,356 signatures to the elections
board, and those signatures appeared to meet the 5 percent threshold
in six of eight wards. After a 30 day review, the elections board said
D.C. Public Trust submitted 21,572 valid signatures, 1,726 short of
the minimum threshold. The board also said that 5 percent threshold
was met in four of the eight wards.

“We remain confident that we have the valid number of signatures, and
if we feel we have legal grounds we will ask the D.C. Superior Court
to review the board’s determination,” said Bryan Weaver, the Ward 1
resident who filed the initiative with the elections board. “We have a
very motivated group of volunteers who are ready to review the
signatures the board determined as invalid and work to validate them.
D.C. residents want this effort to move forward.”

The initiative has received widespread support across the city. In
addition to the more than 300 individual volunteers who circulated
petition sheets, Initiative 70 received the support of numerous
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs)— including four of the five
Ward 8 ANCs — civic and neighborhood associations and small businesses
across the city. Initiative 70 also received institutional support
from local organizations including DC For Democracy, the DC chapter of
the Sierra Club, Public Citizen and Jews United for Justice.

Currently 21 states and the federal government prohibit corporations
from making direct campaign donations to political candidates.

“We look forward to seeing Initiative 70 on the November 6, 2012,
general election ballot,” said Weaver.