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Councilmember Anita Bonds 4
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A BILL 14
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 17
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To amend the Advisory Neighborhood Councils Act of 1975 to require the Board of Elections to 20
oversee the filling of a vacancy in an Advisory Neighborhood Commission, to clarify 21
when the Board shall deem a vacancy to have occurred, to clarify the term of a 22
Commissioner filling a vacancy, to prohibit the circulator of a candidate petition form 23
from altering signer information, to require the Board to publish a list a candidates who 24
qualify to fill a vacancy, to require the Board to issue a final determination of vacancy 25
upon review of a request by the Advisory Neighborhood Commission or Office of 26
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that a vacancy exists or that a Commissioner no 27
longer meets the qualifications for office, and to allow an Advisory Neighborhood to 28
meet to fill a vacancy without meeting quorum; to repeal the Supplementary 29
Neighborhood Commissions Act; and to amend the District of Columbia Election Code 30
of 1955 to require the Board of Elections to oversee the filling of vacancies in Advisory 31
Neighborhood Commissions. 32
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 34
act may be cited as the “Board of Elections Certification of ANC Vacancies Amendment Act of 35
2025”. 36
Sec. 2. The Advisory Neighborhood Councils Act of 1975, effective October 10, 1975 37
(D.C. Law 1-21; D.C. Official Code § 1-309.01 et seq.), is amended as follows: 38
(a) Section 8 is amended as follows: 39
(1) Subsection (a) is amended to read as follows: 40
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“(a) General elections of members of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions shall take 41
place on the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November of each even-numbered calendar 42
year.”. 43
(2) Subsection (b) is amended as follows: 44
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as follows: 45
“(1) Each member of an Advisory Neighborhood Commission elected in a general 46
election shall serve for a term of 2 years which shall begin at noon on the 2nd day of January 47
next following the date of election of such member. A member of an Advisory Neighborhood 48
Commission filling a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term beginning at noon 49
on the day after the date the Board certifies the election or appointment of such member.”. 50
(B) Paragraph (3) is repealed. 51
(3) Subsection (d) is amended as follows: 52
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the word “exists” and inserting 53
the word “occurs” in its place. 54
(B) Paragraphs (2) and (3) are amended to read as follows: 55
“(2) For the purposes of this section, a vacancy is deemed to occur upon the 56
effective date of a notice of resignation or when the Board receives a notice of resignation, 57
whichever is later, or when the Board issues a final determination that a Commissioner no longer 58
meets the qualifications set forth in section 6(a). The Board shall publish notice of the vacancy in 59
the District of Columbia Register within 15 business days after the Board receives the notice of 60
resignation or issues a final determination that a Commissioner no longer meets the 61
qualifications set forth in section 6(a). 62
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“(3) Except when a vacancy occurs within the 6-month period prior to a general 63
election, within 60 business days after the date that the Board publishes notice of a vacancy, the 64
affected Advisory Neighborhood Commission shall hold a public meeting to fill the vacancy 65
pursuant to paragraph (6) of this subsection.”. 66
(C) Paragraph (5) is amended by striking the phrase “until a successor has 67
been certified and sworn in pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.” and inserting the phrase 68
“serve for the remainder of the term.” in its place. 69
(D) Paragraph (6) is amended to read as follows: 70
“(6)(A) Within 5 business days after the date that the Board publishes the notice 71
of vacancy in the District of Columbia Register, the Board shall make available petitions for the 72
purpose of obtaining the signatures of registered qualified electors within the affected single-73
member district. 74
“(B) The petition form shall: 75
“(i) Be made available electronically to any person who files a 76
Declaration of Candidacy with the Board and is confirmed by the Board to be a registered 77
qualified elector residing in the affected single-member district. 78
“(ii) Include an affidavit to be signed and dated by the circulator of 79
the petition indicating that they witnessed each signature and did not write, alter, correct, clarify, 80
or obscure any information about the signer of the petition after the signer affixed their signature 81
to the petition. 82
“(iii) Include a notice that the signature line must be completed in 83
full by a registered qualified elector residing in the affected single-member district and any 84
misrepresentation of name or address may result in a civil fine or criminal prosecution. 85
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“(C) Within 20 business days after the date that the Board makes the 86
petitions available, persons interested in filling the vacancy shall submit a petition to the Board 87
that contains the signatures of at least 25 registered qualified electors within the affected single-88
member district. Within one business day after petitions are due, the Board shall publish on its 89
website a list of names of persons who submitted petitions and instructions for challenging a 90
petition. After a 5-business-day challenge period, the Board shall publish on its website a list of 91
the names of persons who submitted petitions who qualify for membership on the affected 92
Advisory Neighborhood Commission. 93
“(D) If there is only one person qualified to fill the vacancy within the 94
affected single-member district, the vacancy shall be deemed filled by the qualified person and 95
the Board shall certify the filling of the vacancy by publication in the District of Columbia 96
Register. 97
“(E)(i) If more than one candidate qualifies to fill the vacancy, the affected 98
Advisory Neighborhood Commission shall hold a public meeting to fill the vacancy. The 99
meeting may be held as a special meeting or as a regularly scheduled meeting, provided at least 2 100
Commissioners are present. The affected Advisory Neighborhood Commission shall notify all 101
qualified candidates at least 15 business days in advance of the meeting and shall post notice of 102
the meeting on their website. 103
“(ii) Each candidate qualified to fill the vacancy shall be afforded 104
at least 10 minutes to address the Commission, after which the Commissioners shall vote in open 105
session to select a candidate. A representative of the Board of Elections shall oversee voting and 106
declare the winner. In the event of a tie vote, the representative shall select a winner by casting 107
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lots. The Board shall certify the filling of a vacancy pursuant to this subparagraph by publishing 108
notice in the District of Columbia Register. 109
“(iii) Notwithstanding sub-subparagraph (i) of this subparagraph, 110
if the affected single-member district contains the Central Detention Facility and Correctional 111
Treatment Facility, the Board, in consultation with the OANC and the affected Advisory 112
Neighborhood Commission, shall make in-person voting available to qualified registered electors 113
within the single-member district who are not in the care and custody of the Department of 114
Corrections, and the Department of Corrections, in consultation with the Board, shall make 115
voting available to registered qualified electors in its care and custody, including by distributing 116
ballots to registered qualified electors listed as voters in the single-member district on the voter 117
registration list provided by the Board, collecting the ballots, and transmitting the ballots to the 118
Board.”. 119
(4) Subsection (e) is repealed. 120
(5) Subsection (f) is amended to read as follows: 121
“(f)(1) A member of an Advisory Neighborhood Commission who resigns from the 122
single-member district which the member represents shall submit a letter of resignation to the 123
Board and a copy of the letter to the Council, the Mayor, the OANC, the Chairperson of the 124
member’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission, and the Vice Chairperson of the member’s 125
Advisory Neighborhood Commission. The resignation letter shall be sworn, state that it is 126
irrevocable, and give the date that the resignation shall become effective, which shall be not 127
more than 60 business days after the date the Commissioner submits the letter to the Board. The 128
resignation letter may be submitted electronically provided the Commissioner uses the email 129
address submitted in the declaration of candidacy. The Board shall publish notice of the vacancy 130
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and proceed to fill the vacancy as provided in subsection (d) of this section. A candidate who 131
fills a vacancy created by resignation shall begin their term no sooner than the effective date of 132
the resignation as indicated in the letter of resignation. 133
“(2) An Advisory Neighborhood Commission or the OANC may request the 134
Board declare a vacancy based on its own determination that a vacancy exists or that a 135
Commissioner no longer meets the qualifications for office under section (6)(a). The request 136
shall include evidence in support of the allegation and shall be sent to the Board of Elections. A 137
copy of the request shall be sent to the Council, the Mayor, and the Commissioner who is the 138
subject of the allegation. 139
“(3)(A)(i) Within 3 business days after receiving a request filed pursuant to 140
paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Board shall notify the Commissioner by certified mail of the 141
request for a vacancy determination. The notification shall include a copy of the request, the 142
deadline for challenging the request, and the date of a public meeting at which the Board intends 143
to issue a final determination. The Board shall also publish notice of the challenge period and 144
date of the public meeting on its website. 145
“(ii) The Commissioner who is the subject of a request filed 146
pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection may challenge the request by submitting a written 147
statement specifying the alleged errors of law and fact in the request within 15 days after the date 148
the Board publishes notice on its website. 149
“(iii) The Board shall send a copy of any challenge received to the 150
OANC and the affected Advisory Neighborhood Commission. 151
“(B) The Board shall issue a final determination at a public meeting held 152
not more than 30 business days after the challenge period has ended. The Board shall notify the 153
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requestor and the Commissioner who is the subject of the request of the date of the meeting at 154
least 15 days in advance of the meeting and shall publish notice of the meeting on its website. 155
“(C) Within 5 business days after the issuance of the final determination of 156
the Board on the request, either the petitioner or the Commissioner who is the subject of the 157
request may apply to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals for a review of such 158
determination. 159
“(D) The District of Columbia Court of Appeals shall expedite 160
consideration of the determination. 161
“(4) The Board shall issue a notice of vacancy without regard to paragraphs (1) or 162
(2) of this subsection when: 163
“(A) The office of a Commissioner remains vacant after a general or 164
special election. 165
“(B) The Board determines, through its established procedures for the 166
maintenance of the voter registration roll, that a Commissioner is no longer a qualified elector 167
actually residing in the single-member district from which the Commissioner was elected; 168
provided, the affected commissioner has an opportunity to challenge the Board’s determination 169
as follows: 170
“(i) The Board shall notify the Commissioner by certified mail of 171
the residency determination and shall submit a copy of the notice to the affected Advisory 172
Neighborhood Commission and the OANC; 173
“(ii) The Commissioner may challenge the validity of the 174
determination by submitting a written statement specifying the alleged errors of law and fact of 175
the Board’s determination within 15 business days after the issuance of the determination; 176
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“(iii) The Board shall issue a final determination of vacancy at a 177
public meeting held not more than 30 days after the challenge period has ended; and 178
“(iv) Within 5 business days after the issuance of the final 179
determination, the Commissioner who is the subject of the determination may apply to the 180
District of Columbia Court of Appeals for a review of such determination.” 181
“(v) The District of Columbia Court of Appeals shall expedite 182
consideration of the determination.”. 183
(6) Subsection (h) is amended to read as follows: 184
“(h)(1) The Board shall maintain a list of the names, a current telephone number, and 185
home addresses of all members of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, and shall transmit 186
that list to the OANC each month. 187
“(2) The Board and the OANC shall not publicly release the social security 188
numbers, personal electronic-mail addresses, or personal telephone numbers of the 189
Commissioners, except that the OANC may release the personal electronic-mail address or 190
personal telephone number upon the consent of the Commissioner. 191
“(3) The list required pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be 192
provided by the OANC to the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, the Historic Preservation 193
Review Board, the Redevelopment Land Agency, the Zoning Commission and the Board of 194
Zoning Adjustment, and to any other District government entity that requests it. 195
“(4) Any change to the list required pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, 196
which may be due to resignation, election, moving, or for any other reason, shall be reported by 197
the OANC, within 10 business days of receipt, to the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, 198
the Historic Preservation Review Board, the Redevelopment Land Agency, the Zoning 199
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Commission and the Board of Zoning Adjustment, and to any other District government entity 200
that requests it.”. 201
(7) A new subsection (i) is added to read as follows: 202
“(i) The Board shall post all notices required to be published in the Register pursuant to 203
this section on its website.”. 204
(b) Section 14(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph (1D) to read as follows: 205
“(1D) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a quorum shall not be required for the 206
purposes of filling a vacancy pursuant to section 8.”. 207
Sec. 3. The Supplementary Neighborhood Commissions Act, effective June 19, 1976 208
(D.C. Law 1-72; D.C. Official Code § 1-309.31 et seq.), is repealed. 209
Sec. 4. Section 5(a) of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 210
12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.05(a)), is amended as follows: 211
(a) Paragraph (14) is amended by striking the phrase “and provide for the registration of 212
any political party seeking to nominate directly candidates in any general or special election.” 213
and inserting the phrase “provide for the registration of any political party seeking to nominate 214
directly candidates in any general or special election; and oversee the filling vacancies in an 215
Advisory Neighborhood Commission.” in its place. 216
(b) A new paragraph (22) to read as follows: 217
“(22) Oversee the filling of vacancies in an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 218
according to the procedures set forth in section 8 of the Advisory Neighborhood Councils Act of 219
1975, effective October 10, 1975 (D.C. Law 1-21; D.C. Official Code § 1-309.06).”. 220
Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement. 221
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 222
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impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 223
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 224
Sec. 6. Effective date. 225
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by 226
the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of Congressional 227
review as provided in section 602(c)(l) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved 228
December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code §1-206.02(c)(l)). 229