D.C. lawmakers are pushing to change the date of the city’s 2018 primary election to comply with federal election laws.
Council member Charles Allen, who chairs the committee that oversees the D.C. Board of Elections, introduced Tuesday a bill that would move up the District’s primary election date from September to June starting next year.
The proposed change comes “in response to a determination that the current September 2018 primary election date would put the District out of compliance with federal election law related to mailing overseas ballots,” Mr. Allen said Tuesday in a statement.
The Board of Elections alerted lawmakers that under current law, the board will not be able to meet federal law requiring overseas ballots for the general election be mailed no less than 45 days before the November 2018 general election.
“As the chair of the committee with oversight, I take the risk of violating federal election law very seriously. Moving the primary date to June gives the Board of Elections the time it needs to certify results and allows for due process for any challenges before the necessary preparations for the general election need to begin,” Mr. Allen said.
He said an added bonus is that the primary will be held shortly after the end of the 2017-2018 academic year and will avoid any scheduling conflicts with schools that host polling centers.
• Ryan M. McDermott can be reached at rmcdermott@washingtontimes.com.
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