D.C. Council gives final approval to changes in the ballot initiative process

The Council of the District of Columbia on Oct. 6 gave final approval to legislation that changes how citizen-led ballot initiatives are written, reviewed and presented to voters, according to the Council’s summary of the meeting and City Cast DC.

The vote was 10-2, City Cast reported. At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman and Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker voted no, and Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, the Democratic nominee for mayor, voted “present.” The same three members took the same positions when the bill passed its first vote in September, according to The Washington Sun.

What the bill does

The measure, B26-0436, was sponsored by At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds, who chairs the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor. According to the Council’s summary, it would:

• Require that an initiative be divided into separate initiatives when its provisions are “sufficiently separable” to be judged on their own merits.
• Give the Office of the Attorney General and the Council’s general counsel more time to weigh in on whether a proposal is a proper subject for an initiative. City Cast reported the window grows from 15 to 30 days.
• Require a fiscal impact statement from the District’s chief financial officer.
• Direct the Board of Elections to post information about each initiative and its proposers, including donations and public comments, on its website.

Two provisions were removed before final passage, the Council said: badges for petition circulators showing residency and pay status, and a pause in processing an initiative while a lawsuit over it is pending in D.C. Superior Court.

The arguments

Bonds has said the changes would make the process more predictable, City Cast reported. She told The Washington Sun that voters were confused by Initiative 83, the 2024 measure that brought ranked-choice voting and semi-open primaries to the District. Her committee’s report argued that outside groups can use the initiative process to advance their own agendas, according to City Cast.

Opponents see it differently. Parker argued the bill adds barriers and lengthens timelines, making it harder for residents to use the initiative process. Silverman, who also voted no, has said she would prefer an indirect initiative system, in which the Council must act on a successful petition before a question goes to voters. Advocates for several recent and pending initiatives, including the campaign behind Initiative 86 on the Nov. 3 ballot, criticized the bill as an attack on direct democracy, City Cast reported.

What happens next

Like other D.C. legislation, the bill goes to the mayor and then must pass a congressional review period before taking effect. Neither the Council summary nor the news reports reviewed by District Times said how the changes would apply to initiatives already in circulation. Information on current ballot measures is posted by the D.C. Board of Elections.