Voting in Washington, D.C.
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Voting policies are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which American citizens cast their ballots in their individual states.
Below, you will find details on the following voting topics in D.C.:
Contents
- 1 Poll times
- 2 Voter registration
- 3 Early and absentee voting policy
- 4 Voter identification requirements
- 5 Provisional ballot rules
- 6 Primary election type
- 7 Time off work for voting
- 8 Convicted felon voting rules
- 9 Voter list maintenance
- 10 Post-election auditing
- 11 Election administration agencies
- 12 Recent news
- 13 See also
- 14 External links
- 15 Footnotes
Poll times
- See also: State poll opening and closing times
Polls in D.C. are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.[1]
Voter registration
To register in D.C., an individual must be a U.S. citizen. They must be a resident of D.C. for at least 30 days before the election in which they wish to vote, and the voter may not claim voting residence outside the District. The voter must not be incarcerated with a felony conviction or have been found legally incompetent to vote by a court. Registrants must be at least 17 years old and must be 18 by the next general election. Eligible 16-year-olds may preregister, meaning they will be automatically registered upon turning 18.
Voters may register by mail, online, or in person during early voting or on election day. Mail and online registration forms must be received at least 21 days before the election. Voters may register to vote in person on the same day they vote.[2]
First-time registrants must provide proof of residency upon registering or the first time they vote. Click here for accepted documents.
Individuals can find voter registration forms to submit by mail at the following locations:
- District of Columbia Board of Elections (DCBOE)
- Public libraries
- Metropolitan Police Department precincts or fire stations
Individuals may register at polling places from the start of early voting through election day. Prior to early voting, people may register or update registration at the following locations:
- Office on Aging
- Department of Human Services
- Department of Health
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Youth Services
- Department of Developmental and Rehabilitative Services
- Department of Health Care Finance
- Department of Park and Recreation
- Department on Disability Services
- District of Columbia Public Library
- District of Columbia Public Schools
- Health Benefit Exchange Authority
Automatic registration
D.C. does not practice automatic voter registration.
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Washington, D.C. has implemented an online voter registration system. Click here to register online. Individuals may also register through the Vote4DC app. Online registration forms must be submitted at least 21 days before an election.[2]
Same-day registration
D.C. permits same-day voter registration. Click here for more details.
Residency requirements
Registrants in D.C. must be residents for at least 30 days by the time of the election they intend to vote in.[2]
Verification of citizenship
D.C. does not require verification of U.S. citizenship upon registering to vote.
Verifying your registration
Individuals can use the Vote4DC app to check the status of their registration.
Early and absentee voting policy
Early voting
- See also: Early voting
D.C. permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
As of April 2021, 38 states and the District of Columbia permitted early voting. Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on election day. States that do not permit early voting still permit some or all citizens to vote early by mail—often known as absentee voting. Some states allow no-excuse absentee voting, while others require an excuse. States that allow in-person absentee voting without an excuse are counted among early voting states. Click here for early voting laws by state.[3]
Absentee voting
- See also: Absentee voting
All voters are eligible to vote absentee in D.C. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.
Requests for absentee ballots may be submitted to the DCBOE by mail or in person or submitted via the mobile app Vote4DC. The board must receive requests no later than the seventh day before an election.[4]
As of July 2019, 28 states and the District of Columbia allowed no-excuse absentee voting. In 19 states, a voter had to give a valid excuse in order to vote absentee. Commonly accepted excuses for casting an absentee ballot include sickness or physical disability, religious observance, and prolonged absence from the voter's home county. Click here to learn more.
Returning absentee ballots
Voted absentee ballots must be received by the DCBOE no later than 8 p.m. on election day. Ballots may be mailed or hand-delivered to either the board's office or a polling place.[5] D.C. specifies that those voting by emergency absentee ballot due to illness, accident, or serving on a sequestered jury on Election Day may designate an agent—either a registered voter of their choosing or an officer of the court, in case of jury duty—to deliver their voted ballot.[6]
Signature requirements and cure provisions
Requests for absentee ballots and the voted absentee ballots must contain the voter's signature. D.C. does not have a cure provision, or a law providing for a process where election officials follow up with voters whose absentee ballots contain a signature discrepancy or lack the requisite signatures.[7]
See Regulation 3-720.
Was your absentee ballot counted?
The DCBOE provides a tool voters can use to track the status of their absentee ballot. Click here to track your absentee ballot.
Voter identification requirements
- See also: Voter ID in Washington, D.C.
- See also: Voter identification laws by state
D.C. does not require identification from most voters. The District of Columbia Board of Elections requires voters who submitted their voter registration application by mail or online without one of the following documents to present one the first time they vote.
This list was current as of December 2019. Click here for the DCBOE page on accepted documents to ensure you have the most current information.
| “ |
A copy of a current and valid government-issued photo identification that shows your name and address A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck that shows your name and address (issued no earlier than 90 days before the date you mail your application or, if you do not submit proof by mail or online, 90 days before the date you vote) Any other government-issued document that shows your name and address[8] |
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D.C. law specifies that voters registering the same day that they vote need to provide proof of residency. Click here for a list of accepted documents.
Background
As of April 2021, 35 states enforced (or were scheduled to begin enforcing) voter identification requirements. A total of 21 states required voters to present photo identification at the polls; the remainder accepted other forms of identification. Valid forms of identification differ by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.[9][10]
Provisional ballot rules
The District of Columbia Board of Elections states that voters may be instructed to cast special ballots (often called provisional ballots in other locations), or ballots requiring additional steps or information before they can be counted, under the following circumstances. Under each circumstance, the board provides additional details, including steps that need to be taken before the ballot can be counted.[11]
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You are voting outside of your assigned precinct You are marked as an "Early Voter" You are marked as an "Absentee Voter" You are marked as "ID REQUIRED," but do NOT have ID
You claim different party affiliation status (Primary Election)
You claim different ANC/SMD (General Election)
You have already checked-in/your signature line is already signed
A challenge to your voting qualifications are approved by the Precinct Captain
Voting hours extended by a court or the Board
You applied to register same-day but did not provide an acceptable proof of residence
You filed a change of address but did not provide an acceptable proof of residence
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Was your provisional ballot counted?
The DCBOE provides a tool for looking up the status of your provisional ballot.
Primary election type
Washington, D.C. holds closed primary elections, meaning only voters registered as members of a party may vote in that party's primary elections. Registered voters must change party affiliation at least 21 days prior to an election in order to vote in the primary of a party different than the one they were registered with. Those registering to vote at a polling location on the same day they are voting may select their party affiliation at that time.[12]
Time off work for voting
Ballotpedia did not find a law specifying whether voters must be given time off from work to vote in the District of Columbia. Nolo.com notes that locations without such laws may have administrative regulations or local ordinances pertaining to time off for voting and suggests calling your local board of elections or labor department for more information.[13]
If you know of a relevant policy in D.C., please email us.
As of 2019, 30 states had laws requiring employers to provide time off for voting under certain conditions.[14]
Convicted felon voting rules
- See also: Voting rights for convicted felons
In D.C., people may not vote when incarcerated for a felony conviction. Voting rights are automatically restored once the individual is released from incarceration.[15]
Voting rights for convicted felons vary from state to state. In the majority of states, convicted felons cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[16][17][18]
Voter list maintenance
All states have rules under which they maintain voter rolls—or, check and remove certain names from their lists of registered voters. Most states are subject to the parameters set by The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).[19] The NVRA requires states to make efforts to remove deceased individuals and individuals who have become ineligible due to a change of address. It prohibits removing registrants from voter lists within 90 days of a federal election due to change of address unless a registrant has requested to be removed, or from removing people from voter lists solely because they have not voted. The NVRA says that states may remove names from their registration lists under certain other circumstances and that their methods for removing names must be uniform and nondiscriminatory.[20]
When names can be removed from the voter list
The DCBOE may cancel a voter's registration under the following circumstances:[21]
- A signed request from the registrant
- Notification of the registrant's death
- Notification of a registrant’s incarceration for a felony conviction
- Notification that the registrant has registered in another jurisdiction
- If the registrant does not respond to an address confirmation notice and does not vote within two federal general election cycles
Inactive voter list rules
The DCBOE sends address confirmation notices in January of odd-numbered years to any registrant "who did not confirm his or her address through the voting process or file a change of address at the polls in the preceding general election." If the postal service returns the notice as undeliverable or with a new non-D.C. address for the registrant, the registrant is placed on the inactive list until they either confirm/update their address through the notice process or vote in a subsequent election. Registrants are removed from the voter list if they do neither within two federal general election cycles.[21]
The DCBOE may also use data from the United States Postal Service, the National Change of Address System, and the Department of Motor Vehicles to identify registrants who may have moved.[21]
The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)
As of June 2019, the District of Columbia and 28 states participated in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) program.
ERIC is "a non-profit corporation governed by a board of directors made up of member-states," according to its website. Member states submit voter registration and motor vehicle license information to ERIC. ERIC also uses information from the Social Security Death Master. Member states receive "reports that show voters who have moved within their state, voters who have moved out of state, voters who have died, duplicate registrations in the same state and individuals who are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered."
ERIC's website describes its funding as follows: "Each state pays annual dues, which are determined by a formula approved by the ERIC membership. The formula includes citizen voting age population as a factor."[22]
Post-election auditing
D.C. law requires post-election audits. The Board of Elections audits at least 5 percent of precincts and 5 percent of records tabulated centrally, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). At least two ward-wide races and one district-wide race is audited. The date of the audit must be announced within three business days of when tabulation is complete. If an error rate greater than 0.25 percent or 20 percent of the margin of victory (whichever is less) is found and not attributable to marking errors, the board conducts a second count. "If the 2nd count confirms the discrepancy, another precinct in each ward where the contest appeared and an additional 5% of centrally tabulated ballots are audited. If the discrepancy is still there, all ballots with that contest are recounted," according to NCSL.
Post-election audits check that election results tallied by a state's voting system match results from paper records, such as paper ballots filled out by voters or paper records produced by electronic voting machines. As of August 2019, 37 states and D.C. required post-election audits. Typically, audits are done by recounting a portion of ballots, either electronically or by hand, and comparing the results to those produced by the state's voting system.[23]
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in D.C. can contact the following local and federal agencies.
District of Columbia Board of Elections
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- 1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300
- Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
- Telephone: 866-747-1471
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms D.C. voting. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
Elections in D.C.
- District of Columbia elections, 2020
- District of Columbia elections, 2018
- District of Columbia elections, 2017
- District of Columbia elections, 2016
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Vote 411, "District of Columbia," accessed December 4, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 District of Columbia Board of Elections, "FAQs: Voter Registration," accessed December 4, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Laws Governing Early Voting," August 2, 2019
- ↑ Vote4DC, "Absentee Ballot Instructions & Statement," accessed December 4, 2019
- ↑ DC.gov, "Title: 3 Elections and Ethics, 3-720," accessed December 4, 2019
- ↑ DC.gov, "Title: 3 Elections and Ethics, 3-722," accessed December 4, 2019
- ↑ NCSL, "Verification of Absentee Ballots," March 4, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Voter Identification Requirements|Voter ID Laws," June 5, 2017
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Do I need an ID to vote? A look at the laws in all 50 states," October 27, 2014
- ↑ District of Columbia Board of Elections, "Voting by Special Ballot," accessed December 5, 2019
- ↑ District of Columbia Board of Elections, "Voter Registration Application," accessed December 5, 2019
- ↑ NOLO, "Taking Time Off to Vote," accessed September 13, 2019
- ↑ NOLO, "Taking Time Off to Vote," accessed December 27, 2019
- ↑ District of Columbia Board of Elections, "FAQ’s for Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens," accessed December 4, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," July 15, 2014
- ↑ American Civil Liberties Union, "State Criminal Re-enfranchisement Laws," accessed May 26, 2015
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Restoring the Right to Vote by State," March 27, 2014
- ↑ The Justice Department notes, "Six States (Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) are exempt from the NVRA because, on and after August 1, 1994, they either had no voter-registration requirements or had election-day voter registration at polling places with respect to elections for federal office."
- ↑ The United States Department of Justice, "The National Voter Registration Act of 1993," accessed August 20, 2019
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Code of the District of Columbia, "§ 1–1001.07. Voter," accessed December 5, 2019
- ↑ ERIC, "Home," accessed August 20, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Post-Election Audits," August 5, 2019
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