The votes have been counted, the election certified, the incumbents returning to their seats. So what’s going on in Ward 4?

On December 4, residents will head out to the polls to pick their State Board of Education representative. The special election follows the resignation of the previous Ward 4 representative, Lannette Woodruff, on July 31. So if you’re still seeing signs in your neighborhood for any of the four candidates—Rhonda Henderson, Ryan Tauriainen, Elani Lawrence, and Frazier L. Oleary., Jr.—or if you’re still feeling that elections-time buzz in the air, there’s a reason for it.

Because of D.C. laws governing the timing of petition nominations for elections, the D.C. Board of Elections was unable to simply lump the Ward 4 special election in with the general election on November 6. According to § 1-1001.08: “Each candidate in a general or special election for member of the State Board of Education shall be nominated for such office by a nominating petition: (A) Filed with the Board not later than the 90th calendar day before the date of such general or special election.”

Woodruff resigned 97 days before the November 6 general election, which would have given candidates only 7 days to collect the requisite 200 petition signatures to get themselves on the ballot. So the State Board of Elections  postponed the election by about a month.

A bit about the candidates: Rhonda Henderson is backed by the Democrats for Education Reform, which is a pro-charter school PAC, according to the DC Line. Henderson works at EdOps, which works with charter schools. She is also supported by Councilmember Brandon Todd. Ryan Tauriainen is a former Teach for America fellow who has taught in all four quadrants of the city and served as a principal for four years. In 2016 the Washington Post named him “Principal of the Year.” Elani Lawrence served as an ESL and Spanish teacher in elementary, middle, and high schools in New York and D.C. She has two boys in public charter schools, according to her bio. Frazier O’Leary has been teaching since 1970. He has been an English teacher at Garnet-Patterson Junior High School, Cardozo High School, and the University of the District of Columbia. He is endorsed by the Washington Teachers’ Union.

The Ward 4 Democrats are holding an informational forum at the Kingsbury Center on November 27 for voters to ask questions of the four candidates. The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the forum starts at 7:00 p.m. Video is also available of a previous debate, which was sponsored by the Ward 4 Education Alliance, was held last month.

This story has been updated with the correct date for the informational forum.