Senator Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail. (Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

The D.C. Democratic Party vowed to get Bernie on the ballot one way or another. With newly passed emergency legislation, they now have that squared away.

There really wasn’t much question about whether Bernie Sanders would eventually make it on the ballot in D.C. after an “embarrassing and sloppy” situation arose when the party submitted paperwork a day late to get the Vermont senator on the ballot. It was just a matter of how the problem would be fixed.

The whole commotion started because there are two ways for the candidates to get on the ballot: submit 1,000 signatures to the D.C. Board of Elections or pay a $2,500 fee to the D.C. Dems to certify the candidacy. Both Clinton and Sanders paid the fee on time, but the D.C. Democratic State Committee didn’t submit the necessary paperwork until a day after the deadline. However, the Clinton campaign separately handed in the signatures, guaranteeing her spot on the ballot.

The BOE is holding a hearing tomorrow to listen to the complaint from Robert Brannum, the sergeant-of-arms of the Ward 5 Democrats, who challenged Sanders inclusion on the ballot. But the D.C. Council beat the BOE to making a decision this afternoon, passing emergency legislation that clarifies a grace period for submitting paperwork to get on the ballot.

At-large Councilmember Anita Bonds, who also serves as the chairman of the D.C. Democratic State Committee, recused herself. Vincent Orange declined to take a position because of how it might impact the Board of Elections hearing. He added that Sanders “put himself in this situation” by opting to pay the fee rather than collecting the signatures.

The hearing will still take place tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., according to Margarita Mikhaylova, spokesperson for BOE.