Election Day in D.C. is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Vote centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and if you’re in line at 8, you still get to vote. Early voting ended Sunday. The yard signs, presumably, will take a little longer.
Our Oct. 14 explainer covers who’s on your ballot and how ranked choice voting counts it. This is the Election Day version: where to go, what to bring, what’s new since then, and when you’ll actually know who won.
Where to vote and what to bring
You can vote at any of the city’s 75 vote centers, no matter where you live. Your address decides what’s on your ballot, not where you cast it.
Not registered? You still can be. Register in person at a vote center on Election Day with proof that you live in D.C., such as a lease or a utility bill. You need to have lived here at least 30 days before the election.
Still holding your mail ballot? Drop it in an official drop box or at a vote center by 8 p.m. Tuesday. You can also mail it, as long as it’s postmarked by Election Day and arrives by Nov. 13. But NBC4 notes that mailing it Tuesday doesn’t guarantee a Tuesday postmark, so the drop box is the surer bet.
If you live in D.C. but aren’t a U.S. citizen, you can vote in local races but not federal ones. That’s why the Board of Elections posts separate sample ballots for noncitizen residents.
Ranking, one more time
You rank your choices in any race with three or more candidates. Citywide, that’s mayor, delegate and the two at-large Council seats. In Wards 1 and 5, the Council race ranks too. The sample ballot lets you rank up to four for mayor and delegate and up to five for at-large. Everything else is a plain pick-one.
The ballot’s own rules are short. Don’t rank the same candidate twice or give two candidates the same rank. And don’t skip, because skipping more than one rank may make your vote inactive in that race. And ranking someone second doesn’t hurt the person you ranked first.
What’s new since October
Robert White, the Democratic nominee for delegate, is resigning his at-large Council seat today. The attorney general’s office advised that a 1970 law bars the delegate from holding another paid public office on the date of the election. White has said he disagrees with that reading. His name is still on Tuesday’s ballot for delegate.
His Council seat isn’t on Tuesday’s ballot. When a party member’s at-large seat opens up, D.C. law has that party’s central committee appoint someone until a special election, held on a Tuesday 70 to 174 days later. So, yes, more voting.
When you’ll know who won
First-choice results start coming in Tuesday night. The ranked count takes longer. Mailed ballots can arrive through Nov. 13, voters have until Nov. 19 to fix problems with their mail ballots, and the final count is tentatively set for Nov. 20. In June’s primary, the first ranked count was scheduled for the Sunday after the vote.
So here’s your Stats 101 for Tuesday night. A first-choice lead is a count of first choices, nothing more. If nobody clears 50 percent, the last-place candidate’s ballots move to their next choices, and a lead can grow or shrink. A big lead is a strong hint. It isn’t a result.
The Board is set to certify results Dec. 2, tentatively. Until then, every number you see is unofficial, no matter who’s posting it.
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