Norton Introduces Bill to Give D.C. Complete Authority Over the Date of Special Elections

Statement

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced the District of Columbia Special Elections Home Rule Act, which would give the District complete authority to set the date of special elections for local offices, as other jurisdictions already have. The bill simply removes a limitation on the District that is not only inconsistent with the self-government authority otherwise granted by the Home Rule Act, but is also counterproductive. This bill would strengthen the District's home-rule authority and does not require statehood.

"The Home Rule Act originally required the D.C. Board of Elections to hold special elections on the first Tuesday occurring more than 114 days after a vacancy," Norton said. "This inflexibility led to special elections being held on religious holidays and forced the District to hold special elections separate from an upcoming general election, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra election costs. A 2012 law I authored requires the Board to hold a special election on a Tuesday occurring between 70 and 174 days after a vacancy. My new bill would provide even greater flexibility for the District."

Pending statehood, Norton has introduced bills to reduce the federal government's control over local D.C. matters and to expand D.C. equality. This bill is the 23rd bill Norton has introduced this Congress in her Free and Equal D.C. Series.

Norton's introductory statement follows.

Today, I introduce the District of Columbia Special Elections Home Rule Act. This bill would give the District of Columbia complete authority to set the date of special elections for local offices, like other jurisdictions. This bill simply removes a D.C. Home Rule Act limitation on the District that is not only inconsistent with the self-government granted by the Home Rule Act, but is also counterproductive.

This bill follows legislation we got enacted in 2012 that gave the D.C. Board of Elections ("Board") more flexibility to set the date of special elections for local offices to maximize voter participation. Although we sought complete authority for the District over the scheduling of special elections, the 2012 law, the District of Columbia Special Election Reform Act, did not include this home-rule principle. D.C. should have complete authority over a matter that is unrelated to any other congressional district and has no relevance to Congress.

The Home Rule Act originally required the Board to hold special elections on the first Tuesday occurring more than 114 days after a vacancy and allowed the Board to schedule special elections on the same day as the next general election if that election occurred within 60 days from when a special election would otherwise have been held. This inflexibility led to special elections being held on religious holidays and forced the District to hold a special election separate from an upcoming general election, costing the District hundreds of thousands of dollars. The 2012 law requires the Board to hold a special election on a Tuesday occurring between 70 and 174 days after a vacancy.

This bill is an important step to perfect home rule for the District. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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