The push to recall D.C. Council member Jack Evans from office has hit a roadblock, likely delaying the start of the signature-gathering campaign needed to put the measure on the ballot by a month — if not longer.

During its monthly meeting on Wednesday, the D.C. Board of Elections agreed with an attorney for Evans that organizers with the Ward 2 Citizens Recall had not properly filed necessary campaign finance paperwork to proceed.

The campaign, which is spearheaded by activist Adam Eidinger, will have a chance to refile its recall petition, although the elections board might not be able to approve the petition until its May meeting.

That delay could be critical, because under D.C. law, an elected official cannot be recalled in their final year in office. For Evans, 2020 will be the last year of his current term. If Eidinger is allowed to start collecting the roughly 5,200 signatures needed to put the question to voters next month, he’ll have to do so quickly in order to get them approved and get special election called before the end of the year.

“This is a very unfortunate delay,” Eidinger said after the board’s meeting. “It could impact our ability to get it on the ballot in time. We’re going to regroup.”

Eidinger announced in March his intention to recall Evans from office — basically, to ask his constituents to un-elect him — over recent revelations that he had used his public office to seek outside work with law firms that lobby the Council.

While holding outside employment is legal for councilmembers, Eidinger said that Evans had “peddled his expertise at swaying his fellow Council or Metro board members” and that his constituents “must remove him from the D.C. Council to insure these clear conflicts do not continue to harm District residents.”

In an official statement arguing against the recall, Evans did not address the current allegations against him, nor an existing federal investigation into his links to a digital sign company on whose behalf he introduced legislation. Rather, Evans, the Council’s longest-serving member, cited his tenure on the Council.

“For the past 28 years, Jack Evans has been the elected Ward 2 councilmember and has fiercely advocated on behalf of his constituents,” the statement read. “He guided D.C. through financially turbulent times and helped bring the city into its current era of economic prosperity resulting in earning this year’s AAA bond rating.”

The paperwork hiccup was not the only objection raised Wednesday by Evans’s lawyer, Don Dinan. He also argued that Eidinger’s official statement on why Evans should be recalled was “false or at very best very misleading,” and questioned whether Eidinger actually lives in Ward 2 as he says he does. Only a registered voter in a given ward can legally initiate a recall against their respective councilmember.

“We would submit that under the overwhelming preponderance of the evidence, Eidinger is not a registered Ward 2 voter and this petition must be denied,” said Dinan, arguing that Eidinger owned a home in Ward 1 and claimed it as his primary residence for tax purposes.

But Eidinger, who in the past spearheaded ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana and eliminate the tipped wage, called Dinan’s accusations “outrageous” and said that while he had in the past lived in Ward 1, since late last year, he had been registered to vote at a home he rents on Massachusetts Avenue in Ward 2.

The board did not take up the issue of Eidinger’s residence on Wednesday, but did propose some changes to his official recall statement.

Evans is facing demands that he resign his leadership position in the city’s Democratic Party, and some residents have called on the Council to launch an investigation and remove him as chair of the powerful finance committee. Evans’s colleagues instead voted on a bill reprimanding him last month, and Tuesday stripped him of oversight over Events D.C. and the Commission on Arts and Humanities. Chairman Phil Mendelson has also said he will no longer send certain tax bills to Evans’s committee.

The scandal has also spurred a new bill that would prohibit councilmembers from holding second jobs; Evans had long worked at local law firms that represent clients with matters before the Council.

Although there have been a number of attempts over the years, there has never been a successful effort to recall a sitting councilmember from office. Even if Evans were recalled by voters, he could still run for re-election next year.

After the meeting, Eidinger said he would consider finding a new treasurer and chairperson (to replace himself) for the recall effort. But he also said he wasn’t giving up on it.

“This is a hard thing to do,” he said. “It’s all work and little reward. I’m still committed to seeing the recall through.”

This story first appeared on WAMU.