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Chairman Vincent C. Gray Councilmember Mary M. Cheh Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. A BILL IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA To amend the District of Columbia Election Code to include Board member qualifications and restrictions on Board Member activities, to impose an open meetings requirement, to establish an Elections Advisory Committee to assist the Board in carrying out is duties, to require the Board to establish regulations allowing elections observers uniform and nondiscriminatory access to the election process, to establish reporting requirements following elections, to expand the franchise to persons that are 17 but will be 18 at the time of the general election, to allow for pre-registration of persons 16 years or older, to permit same-day registration, to require the Board to submit an automatic-voter registration study, to add the Department of Corrections and the Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services to agencies covered under the National Voter Registration Act, to expand the pool of eligible polling place workers, to require training and certification of polling place workers, to require performance management of polling place workers, to allow public employees to take paid leave in order to work as a polling place worker, to establish a polling place worker check-off on voter registration forms, to require a voting system with a voter-verifiable voter record, to require a competitive contracting process for new voting systems, to allow for no-fault absentee ballots, to allow persons to cast special ballots for federal elections in out-of-precinct votes, to allow for early voting and vote centers, to authorize the Board to extend voting hours in emergency situations, to require the posting of summary counts of votes at the precincts, to move Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner elections to the primary elections, to establish ballot auditing standards, to allow the Board to establish filing fees for candidates for elected office, to adjust the number of signatures needed for Advisory Neighborhood Commission nomination petitions, to allow for passive electioneering at the polls, to prohibit defacing campaign posters and other campaign materials during an election period, and to repeal the "false statements" provisions in the Board's initiative regulations. BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "Omnibus Election Reform Act of 2009". TITLE I. BOARD GOVERNANCE Sec. 101. Board member qualifications (a) Section 4 of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved Aug. 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.4), is amended to read as follows:
(b) This section shall not apply to any members of the Board who are sitting at the time of the effective date of this Act. Sec. 102. Open meetings. (a) The Board shall hold regular monthly meetings in accordance with a schedule to be established by the Board, and additional meetings may be called as needed by the Board. (b) The Board shall make available for public inspection and post on its website a proposed agenda for each Board meeting at least 24 hours before a meeting. Copies of the agenda shall be available to the public at the meeting. The Board may, according to its rules, amend the agenda at the meeting. (c) All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public, unless the members vote to enter into Executive Session. The Board may not vote, make resolutions or rulings, or take any actions of any kind during executive session, except those that:
(d) The Board shall keep the minutes of each meeting of the Board and shall make the minutes of each meeting available to the public for inspection and distribution, and shall post the minutes on the Board's website, as soon as practicable but in all cases before the next regularly scheduled meeting. Sec. 103. Elections advisory committee. (a) There is established an Elections Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee) that shall provide advice to and otherwise assist the Board in carrying out its duties. (b) The Advisory Committee shall be comprised of:
(c) No person shall be a member of the Advisory Committee unless he or she:
(d) Public participation.
Sec. 104. Election observers. (a) Section 2 of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved Aug. 12, 1955 22 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.2) is amended to add a new paragraph (10-A) to read 23 as follows:
(b) Section 9 of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved Aug. 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.9) is amended by adding a new subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
Sec. 105. Reporting requirements. (a) Within 90 days following a general election, the Board shall publish an after-action report. The report shall include the following information:
(b) The Board shall transmit a copy of the after-action report to the Council, and shall post the report on the Board's website. TITLE II. VOTER QUALIFICATIONS. Sec. 201. Voter qualifications. (a) Section 2 of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved Aug. 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.2(2)), is amended by striking paragraph (2) in its entirety and inserting in its place the following:
(b) Section 7(a-2) of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved Aug. 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.7(a-2)), is amended by:
(c) Section 7(b)(4) of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved Aug. 12,1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.7(b)(4)), is repealed. TITLE III. VOTER REGISTRATION. Sec. 301. Same-day registration. (a) Section 7 of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved Aug. 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.7), is amended by striking subsection (g) in its entirety and inserting the following in its place:
(b) The precinct captain shall keep a record of the number of individuals who attempt to register on Election Day but who cannot provide proof of residence as required by this section. The record shall be forwarded to the Board with the election returns for that precinct. Sec. 302. Automatic-voter-registration study. The Board shall submit, no later than May 1, 2010, a report indicating the feasibility of implementing automatic voter registration in the District. Sec. 303. Department of corrections. Section 7(14)(A) of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.07(14)(A)), is amended by striking the phrase "the Metropolitan Police Department, and" and inserting "the Metropolitan Police Department, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Youth and" in its place. TITLE IV. POLLING PLACE WORKERS. Sec. 401. Polling place worker residency requirement eliminated. Section 5(e)(4) of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.05(e)(4)), is amended by striking the phrase "Polling place workers shall be qualified registered electors in the District of Columbia, except that the Board may also appoint as polling place workers individuals who are 16 or 17 years of age on the day that they are working in this capacity, who reside in the District of Columbia, and who are enrolled in or have graduated from a public or private secondary school or an institution of higher education.". Sec. 402. Polling place worker training, certification, and oath. Any polling place worker appointed pursuant to section 5(e)(4) of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.05(e)(4)), shall be required to:
Sec. 403. Polling place worker performance management. The Board shall establish standards to measure the performance of polling place workers. The Board shall consider past performance of a polling place woker before appointing him or her to work as a polling place worker in a subsequent election. Sec. 404. Leave from employment. (a) Section 1203 of the Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, effective Mar. 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-139, D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03), is amended by adding a new subsection (1-1), to read as follows:
(b) Any polling place worker who is employed by the District and who elects to take leave pursuant to subsection (a) shall not be entitled to receive compensation from the Board.". Sec. 405. Poll worker check-off on voter registration forms. Section 7(b) of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.07(b)), is amended by adding a new paragraph (5) to read as follows: "(5) The Board shall provide a field on voter registration forms to allow an applicant to indicate his or her interest in working as a polling place worker during the next election.". TITLE V. VOTING MACHINES. Sec. 501. Voter-verifiable record. (a) Section 9(k) of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.09(k)), is amended to read as follows:
(b) In the event that the voting system presently used by the Board does not meet the standard set forth in subsection (a), the Board shall retrofit any equipment necessary to meet the standard to the extent that such a retrofit is possible. (c) The Board shall adopt voting system standards and review such standards on a biennial basis. Sec. 502. Contract required. (a) The Board must purchase voting system equipment under a competitively bid contract that with the following conditions:
(b) The Board should consult the Elections Advisory Committee in the preparation of a request for proposal, or similar [sic] TITLE VI. ABSENTEE AND SPECIAL BALLOTS. Sec. 601. No-fault absentee ballots Section 9(b)(2) of the District of Columbia Election Code, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.09(b)(2)). is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 602. Special ballots for out-of-precinct votes. Section 9(b) of the District of Columbia Election Code, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.09(b)), is amended as follows: (a) A new paragraph (3) is added to read as follows:
(b) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase "in paragraph (2)" and inserting the phrase "in paragraphs (2) and (3)" in its place. Sec. 603. Vote centers and early voting. The Board shall permit a voter to request and cast an absentee ballot at the Board's office, or at any other place designated by the Board. TITLE VII. ELECTION PROCEDURES. Sec. 701. Extending voting hours. The Board may, upon request of the precinct captain or upon its own initiative, if an emergency exists by reason of mechanical failure of a voting machine, an unanticipated shortage of ballots, excessive wait times, bomb threats, or similar unforeseen event warrants it, extend the polling hours for that precinct until the emergency situation has been resolved. Sec. 702. Posting of election results. Upon the conclusion of voting at any precinct, the Board shall post a summary count of votes cast at the precinct. The summary shall be posted in a conspicuous place that can be seen from the outside of the precinct immediately upon completion of voting, and shall not be removed at any time until after 48 hours following the election. Sec. 703. Advisory neighborhood commissioner elections. (a) Subsection (a) of the D. C. Code § 1-309.06 is amended by striking the clause "1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November of each even-numbered calendar year" and replacing it with "1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in September of each even-numbered calendar year.". (b) Applicability. This section shall not apply until after December 1, 2010. TITLE VIII. BALLOT AUDITING REQUIREMENTS. Sec. 801. Ballot auditing. (a) Generally. After each Primary, General, and Special Election, the Board shall conduct a public manual audit of the paper ballots tabulated by the Board. (b) Scope. The Board shall audit:
(c) Random selection. The precincts audited shall be selected on an entirely random basis such that each precinct in the election shall have an equal chance of being selected. The date of the random-precinct selection event shall be announced no later than 3 business days after the election, but more than 3 business days in advance of the event and conducted in public view. 8 The Board shall also publicly announce the method by which it intends to randomly select precincts, and conduct the random selection in such a way as to ensure that the selection is random. (d) Date. The date of the audit shall be announced no later than 3 business days after the election, but more than three 3 business days in advance of the event; and (e) Public view. The audit shall be conducted in public view such that members of the public are able to verify the tally, but are unable either to touch ballots and other official materials or to interfere in any way with the manual audit process. (f) Individuals performing the manual audit shall:
(g) Escalation of audit.
(h) Finality. The results derived from the manual audits shall be considered the true and correct results of the election contests at issue. (i) Reporting of audit results. The Board shall publish on its website and make available for public inspection a report of results of the manual audit before certification of the official election results. Such report shall:
Sec. 802. Retention of ballots. Section 9(j) of the District of Columbia Election Code, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.09(j)), is amended by striking the phrase "12 months" wherever it appears and inserting the phrase "22 months" in its place. TITLE IX. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. Sec. 901. Filing fees. (a) The Board may assess any candidate for elected office a reasonable filing fee according to a schedule established by regulation. (b) The Board shall not assess any filing fees before the General Election in November 4, 2010. (c) The proceeds of the filing fees shall be deposited in the Board of Elections and Ethics Special Purpose Revenue Fund, to be used for the sole purpose of administering elections in the District. Sec. 902. Advisory neighborhood commission nominating petitions. Section 6(b)(1)(B) of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Act of 1975, effective Oct. 10, 1975 (D.C. Law 1-21, D.C. Official Code 1-309.05(b)(1)(B) is amended by striking the phrase "by not less than 25" and inserting the phrase "no fewer than 25, or 1%, whichever is less," in its place. Sec. 903. Electioneering. Section 10(b)(2) of the District of Columbia Election Code, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.10(b)(2)), is amended by adding a new paragraph (A-i) to read as follows:
Sec. 904. Recall timing. Section 17(g) of the District of Columbia Election Code, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.17(g)), is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 905. Defacing campaign posters and other campaign materials during an election period. Section 14 of the District of Columbia Election Code, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.14) is amended by adding a new subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
Sec. 906. "False statements" provision repealed. Section 1003.6(i) of Title 3 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (3 DCMR 2 § 1003.6(i)) is repealed. |
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