amendments to the district of columbia election act

amendments to the district of columbia election act Sec. 203. (a) Section 2 of the District of Columbia Election Act (D.C. Code, sec. 1–1102) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph: “(6) The term ‘Delegate’ means the Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.” (b) Subsections (h), (i), (j), and (k) of section 8 of the District of Columbia Election Act (D.C. Code, sec. 1–1108) are redesignated as subsections (n), (o), (p), and (q), respectively, and the following new subsections are inserted after subsection (g): “(h) The Delegate shall be elected by the people of the District of Columbia in a general election. The nomination and election of the Delegate and the candidates for office of Delegate shall be governed by the provisions of this Act. Each candidate for the office of Delegate in any general election shall, except as otherwise provided in subsection (j) of this section and in section 10(d), have been elected as such a candidate by the next preceding primary or party runoff election. No political party shall be qualified to hold a primary election to select candidates for election to the office of Delegate in a general election unless, in the next preceding election year, at least seven thousand five hundred votes were cast in the general election for a candidate of such party for the office of Delegate or for its candidates for electors of President and Vice President. “(i) Each candidate in a primary election for the office of Delegate shall be nominated for such office by a petition (1) filed with the Board not later than forty-five days before the date of such primary election; (2) signed by at least two thousand persons who are duly registered under section 7 and who are of the same political party as the nominee; and (3) accompanied by a filing fee of $100. Such fee may be refunded only in the event that the candidate withdraws his nomination by writing received by the Board not later than three days after the date on which nominations are closed under this subsection. A nominating petition for a candidate in a primary election for the office of Delegate may not be circulated for signature before the ninety-ninth day preceding the date of such election and may not he filed with the Board before the seventieth day preceding such date. The Board may prescribe rules with respect to the preparation 84 Stat. 850and presentation of nominating petitions and the posting and disposition of filing fees. The Board shall arrange the ballot of each political party in each such primary election so as to enable a voter of such party to vote for any one duly nominated candidate of that party for the office of Delegate. “(j) (1) A duly qualified candidate for the office of Delegate may, subject to the provisions of this subsection, be nominated directly as such a candidate for election in the next succeeding general election for such office (including any such election to be held to fill a vacancy). Such person shall be nominated by a petition (A) filed with the Board not less than forty-five days before the date of such general election; (B) signed by duly registered voters equal in number to 2 per centum of the total number of registered voters of the District, as shown by the records of the Board as of ninety-nine days before the date of such election, or by five thousand persons duly registered under section 7, whichever is less; and (C) accompanied by a filing fee of $100. Such fee may be refunded only in the event that the candidate withdraws his nomination by writing received by the Board not later than three days after the date on which nominations are closed under this subsection. No signatures on such a petition may be counted which have been made on such petition more than ninety-nine days before the date of such election. “(2) Nominations under this subsection for candidates for election in a general election for the office of Delegate shall be of no force and effect with respect to any person whose name has appeared on the ballot of a primary election for such office held within eight months before the date of such general election. “(k) In each general election for the office of Delegate, the Board shall arrange the ballots so as to enable a voter to vote for any one of the candidates for such office who (1) has been duly elected by any political party in the next preceding primary or party runoff election for such office, (2) has been duly nominated to fill vacancies in such office pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10, or (3) has been nominated directly as a candidate under subsection (j) of this section. “(l) The signature of a registered voter on any petition filed with the Board and nominating a candidate for election in a primary or general election to any office shall not be counted if, after receipt of a timely challenge to such effect, the Board determines such voter also signed any other valid petition, filed earlier with the Board, and nominating the same or any other candidate for the same office in the same election. “(m) Designations of offices of local party committees to be filled by election pursuant to clause (3) of the first section of this Act shall be effected by written communications filed with the Board not later than ninety days before the date of such election.” (c) Section 10 of the District of Columbia Election Act (D.C. Code, sec. 1–1110) is amended as follows: (1) Subsection (a) of such section is amended by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (6), (7), (8), and (9), respectively, and by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraphs: “(3) Except as otherwise provided in the case of special elections under this Act or section 206(a) of the District of Columbia Delegate Act, primary elections of each political party for the office of Delegate 84 Stat. 851to the Mouse of Representatives shall be held on the first Tuesday in May of each even-numbered year; and general elections for such office shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year. “(4) Runoff elections shall be held whenever (A) in any primary election of a political party for candidates for the office of Delegate, no one candidate receives at least 40 per centum of the total votes cast in that election for all candidates of that party for that office, and (B) in any general election for the office of Delegate, no one candidate receives at least 40 per centum of the total votes cast in that election for all candidates for that office. Any such runoff election shall be held not less than two weeks nor more than six weeks after the date on which the Board has determined the results of the preceding primary or general election, as the case may be. At the time of announcing any such determination, the Board shall establish and announce the date on which the runoff election will be held, if one is required. The candidates in any such runoff election shall be the two persons who received, respectively, the two highest numbers of votes in such preceding primary or general election; except that if any person withdraws his candidacy from such runoff election (under the rules and within the time limits prescribed by the Board), the person who received the next highest number of votes in such preceding primary or general election and who is not already a candidate in the runoff election shall automatically become such a candidate. “(5) With respect to special elections required or authorized by this Act, the Board may establish the dates on which such special elections are to be held and prescribe such other terms and conditions as may in the Board’s opinion be necessary or appropriate for the conduct of such elections in a manner comparable to that prescribed for other elections held pursuant to this Act.” (2) The last sentence of paragraph (9) of subsection (a) of such section (as so redesignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) is amended by striking out “(5)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(8)”. (3) Subsection (b) of such section is amended by inserting “the office of Delegate and for” after “general elections for”. (4) Subsection (c) of such section is amended (A) by striking out “a tie vote in” and inserting in lieu thereof “a tie vote, the resolution of which will affect the outcome of”; and (B) by striking out “ten days following the election” and inserting in lieu thereof “ten days following determination by the Board of the results of the election which require the resolution of such tie”. (5) Subsection (d) of such section is amended (A) by inserting “a Delegate or a winner of a primary election for the office of Delegate or” after “any official, other than”; and (B) by adding at the end thereof the following new sentence: “In the event that such a vacancy occurs in the office of a candidate for the office of Delegate who has been declared the winner in the preceding primary or party runoff election for such office, the vacancy may be filled not later than fifteen days prior to the next general election for such office, by nomination by the party committee of the party which nominated his predecessor, and by paying the filing fee required by section 8(i). In the event that such a vacancy occurs in the office of Delegate more than twelve months before the expiration of its term of office, the Board shall call special elections to fill such vacancy for the remainder of its term of office.”