D.C. Council member Anita Bonds, D-At Large, led a roundtable hearing last week investigating controversial practices at the D.C. Board of Elections.
The hearing focused on the BOE’s use of Wite-Out correction fluid to alter petition signatures, particularly those related to Initiative 83, the ranked choice voting measure voters approved in November.
“The integrity of our election process is at stake,” Bonds said during the May 13 hearing.
Vote NO on Initiative 83, which opposes the ranked choice voting initiative, has challenged the BOE’s correction fluid practices in a case now before the D.C. Court of Appeals. During oral arguments on April 23, judges appeared skeptical of the BOE’s position, according to observers.
Rather than await the court’s decision, Bonds has already acted by co-sponsoring legislation with Council members Kenyan McDuffie, I-At Large, and Matthew Frumin, D-Ward 3. Their “Petition Administration Clarification Amendment Act of 2025” would prohibit altering petition information after signatures are collected, except when signers explicitly request assistance.
Ken Boese, who heads the council’s Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, raised additional concerns about BOE practices regarding ANC vacancies. He testified that the board requires ANCs to meet to declare seats vacant even when commissioners are convicted felons and legally unable to serve.
Boese characterized the board’s treatment of ANCs as “insulting and abusive” and argued that the BOE violates its mandate by forcing ANCs to conduct vacancy-filling elections.
Deirdre Brown, chair of Vote NO on Initiative 83 and the attorney who argued against correction fluid usage before the appeals court, praised the council’s attention to these issues.
“I want to commend Council member Bonds for shining a spotlight on these ongoing problems with the agency responsible for a core democratic function in the District,” Brown said. “With an initiative planned on the new RFK Stadium by the same proposers, the council should act to resolve these questions regarding Wite-Out usage and the other questions that cast doubt on the integrity of our elections.”
The court has not indicated when it will issue a ruling on the correction fluid controversy.
