FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 21, 2023
CONTACT:
Nikolas Schiller 202-643-3878
Press@MakeAllVotesCountDC.org
DC Board of Elections Determines The Make All Votes Count Act of 2024 is Proper Subject Matter
Decision Creates Ballot Initiative #83
WASHINGTON, DC — Today the three-member Board of the District of Columbia Board of Elections (DCBOE) determined that the Make All Votes Count Act of 2024 is “proper subject matter” to become an official ballot initiative in the District of Columbia. Once a ballot initiative passes this crucial first hurdle, it is assigned an iterative number; the Make All Votes Count Act of 2024 is now officially Ballot Initiative #83. The Make All Votes Count Act of 2024 would open up DC’s primaries to registered independent voters and allow voters to elect candidates through ranked choice voting, which are two electoral reforms the campaign believes will stop DC voter suppression and make it easier to hold local politicians accountable.
“I am sincerely grateful to the DC Board of Elections for conducting its due diligence and making the proper subject matter determination for my proposal to reform DC’s elections to be more inclusive of independent voters currently disenfranchised,” said Lisa D. T. Rice, proposer of Ballot Initiative 83.
The “proper subject matter” determination means that the Make All Votes Count Act of 2024 was properly filed with the DCBOE and Office of Campaign Finance (OCF), does not conflict with the Home Rule Act or the U.S. Constitution, does not authorize discrimination in violation of the DC Human Rights Act, does not negate or limit a budgetary act of the DC Council, and does not appropriate funds.
Rice, who is also a Ward 7 ANC commissioner, native Washingtonian, adds the following statement on behalf of the Make All Votes Count DC campaign:
“I’m thrilled to be part of the local grassroots campaign to advocate for ending voter suppression by opening primary elections to independent voters like me and bringing ranked choice voting to my hometown, to make our elections fairer and hold politicians accountable to us all. I believe the much-needed electoral reforms outlined in the
Make All Votes Count Act of 2024 will have a positive impact on the governance of the District of Columbia and we look forward to engaging and educating voters in the coming months.”
Next up for the ballot initiative is its review by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), which has 15 business days to provide their analysis to the DCBOE. Concurrently, starting tomorrow, the DCBOE has 20 days to finalize the short title, the summary statement, and legislative text of the Make All Votes Count Act of 2024. Once this phase is completed, the DCBOE will hold a hearing to vote on the final version of the ballot initiative. Later this year, there will be another DCBOE hearing where the Make All Votes Count DC campaign will be issued the official circulating petitions required for ballot access.
In order for the Make All Votes Count DC campaign to achieve ballot access and put Ballot Initiative #83 before DC voters, the campaign will need to collect the signatures of 5% of the registered voters in 5 of the 8 wards of the District of Columbia within 180 days. Based on the
June 30, 2023, DCBOE Voter Registration Statistics, there are currently 527,029 registered DC voters. Therefore the campaign will need to collect 26,352 valid signatures from DC voters to achieve ballot access. If the ballot initiative is approved by DC voters in 2024, and any potential funding requirements appropriated by the DC Council, the first applicable election of the Make All Votes Count Act of 2024 would be the June 2026 Primary election.
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