To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to permit the District of Columbia to establish the timing of special elections for local office in the District of Columbia.
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill gives the District of Columbia more control over its own elections. Currently, federal law dictates when DC must hold special elections to fill vacancies in local offices. This bill amends the DC Home Rule Act to allow DC to establish its own procedures and timing for special elections for Mayor, Council Chairman, Council members (both ward and at-large), and Attorney General.
Who Benefits and How
The DC government and Board of Elections benefit by gaining flexibility to schedule special elections at times that make sense for the District, rather than following rigid federal timelines. DC residents benefit from potentially more efficient and cost-effective elections. DC's self-governance is strengthened by reducing federal control over local election procedures.
Who Bears the Burden and How
There are minimal burdens from this bill. Some may argue that removing federal oversight could lead to inconsistent election timing. The changes take effect one year after enactment, so current vacancy procedures remain temporarily in place.
Key Provisions
- Allows DC to set timing for special elections to fill vacancies in the Office of Mayor
- Allows DC to set timing for special elections for Council Chairman and Council members
- Allows DC to set timing for special elections for Attorney General
- Effective for vacancies occurring one year after enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Amends the DC Home Rule Act to give the District of Columbia authority to set its own timing for special elections to fill vacancies in local offices including Mayor, Council Chairman, Council members, and Attorney General.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Expand DC home rule authority incrementally by giving the District control over election timing procedures"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "board_of_elections"
- → DC Board of Elections
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Federal law establishing the structure and powers of DC's local government
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology