Candidates

Petition Challenge

The challenge period for the November 3, 2026 General Election will begin on Saturday, August 8, 2026 and will run through Monday, August 17, 2026 at 5:00 pm. In addition to our normal weekday hours of 8:15 am to 4:45 pm, DCBOE will be open weekends (Saturday, August 8th; Sunday, August 9th; Saturday, August 15th; and Sunday, August 16th) from 8:30 am to 4:45 pm during the challenge process. 


For any candidate, non-resident circulator, or nominating petition challenge lists, please see the 2026 Elections page.

The Petition Challenge Process

Within 3 business days after the petition filing deadline, the Registrar issues a preliminary determination as to the sufficiency of a petition. A petition is sufficient if it:

  • Contains the minimum statutory number of signatures;
  • Is accompanied by a filer's affidavit which indicates that the petition is complete and numerically sufficient; and
  • Is on the form issued by the Board of Elections.

All petitions, including those preliminarily determined to be insufficient, are posted for a 10-day challenge period.  Assuming that the other qualifications are satisfied (including overcoming a preliminary determination of petition insufficiency), candidates whose petitions are not timely challenged will be certified for the ballot.

Petitions are posted and available for review in the Board’s office or via an emailed secure link. All requests, whether in person or online, must be made by completing a Data Request Form (linked in the “Additional Forms” section below). Petitions emailed via a secure link are free. Reviewing copies of a candidate’s petition sheets in the Board’s office is also free. Paper copies of petitions can be made for the cost of $0.25 / page via check or money order payable to the D.C. Treasurer. There is a $30 service fee for all returned checks.

NOTE: Updates to Title 3 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”) that impact the ballot access challenge process became effective on July 17, 2026. Please review the sections of Title 3 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”) that apply to the office sought by the candidate being challenged.* 

For a challenge to be accepted, each challenge to a nominating petition and/or the qualifications of the candidate must fully comply with the requirements applicable to the office or party position at issue, as set forth in 3 DCMR §§ 1406 and 1407, 1506 and 1507, 1606 and 1607, or 1706 and 1707. Challenges that do not satisfy the applicable requirements will NOT be accepted.

*Chapter 14 — Candidate Nominations: Political Party Primaries for Presidential Preference and Convention Delegates. Chapter 15 — Candidate Nominations: Electors of President and Vice President of the United States. Chapter 16 — Candidate Nomination: Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives; Mayor; Chairman and Members of the Council of the District of Columbia; Attorney General; U.S. Senator; U.S. Representative; Members of the State Board of Education; and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. *Chapter 17 — Candidates: Members and Officials of Local Committees of Political Parties and National Committee Persons.

The grounds upon which a signature may be challenged are as follows:

  • Signer is not a registered voter;
  • Signer is inactive at time of signing;
  • Signer is registered at different address;
  • Signature is a duplicate;
  • Signature is not dated;
  • Signature is not accompanied by an address;
  • Signature is illegible and does not include printed name;
  • Circulator is not qualified to circulate;
  • Circulator affidavit is incomplete;
  • Signature is an apparent forgery;
  • Signature was not personally witnessed by the circulator;
  • Signature appears on a sheet not personally circulated by the circulator;If applicable, voter does not reside in the Ward or SMD from which candidate seeks nomination;
  • If applicable, voter is not registered in same party as candidate at time petition is signed;
  • For President, Delegate, US Representative, US Senator, and party committee offices, signer is not a US Citizen;
  • Correction fluid or tape was used on information in the circulator affidavit;
  • Correction fluid or tape was used on information provided by the signer; or
  • Information about the signer was altered, corrected, or clarified by another person without the signer requesting such assistance before affixing their signature.

If a signature is challenged on a particular ground and, in the course of investigating the challenge, Board staff discovers an unrelated fatal defect either on the face of a petition or pursuant to a record search concerning the specific allegation or challenge, the Board may, on its own motion, declare the signature(s) invalid, notwithstanding the defect was not alleged or challenged.

Upon the receipt of a properly filed challenge, the Office of the General Counsel shall promptly serve a copy of the challenge upon the candidate by email and schedules a pre-hearing conference to review the challenge. The Registrar provides a preliminary determination regarding the challenge at this hearing. If the challenge is not resolved, it is scheduled for a Board hearing.

Challenges must be resolved by no later than the 20th day after the challenge was filed.

Within 3 days after the announcement of the Board determination, either the challenger or the challenged nominee may appeal to the D.C. Court of Appeals for an expedited review of the reasonableness of the determination. The court's decision is final and may not be appealed.

FORMS NEEDED TO SUBMIT A NOMINATING PETITION CHALLENGE:

ADDITIONAL FORMS:

HELPFUL DOCUMENTS:

APPLICABLE CHAPTERS OF TITLE 3 OF THE DC MUNICIPAL REGULATIONS:

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