Robert White says he will resign from Council by Monday

D.C. Council member Robert White, the Democratic nominee for the District's delegate seat in the U.S. House, said he will resign from the Council by Monday, Nov. 2, unless "a clear legal solution is secured." A 1970 federal law bars D.C.'s delegate from holding another paid public office on the date of election, and Attorney General Brian Schwalb has said that means White must leave the Council before Election Day on Nov. 3.

Context  White, a council member since 2016, won the June Democratic primary to succeed Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has held the seat since 1991. White argues that the law's words "date of his election" mean the date a winner is certified, tentatively Dec. 2, and says an early resignation could cost taxpayers through special elections, but he says he will not put D.C.'s representation in Congress at risk. Georgetown Law professor David Super told WJLA he agrees with Schwalb and that the Council cannot change this federal law, and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson's office said he is not considering emergency legislation at this time. WJLA notes that if Ward 4 Council member Janeese Lewis George wins the mayor's race, the Council could have two vacancies.

WJLA 7News  ·  WUSA9 (via Yahoo News)

An analysis by Rentrospect, an independent housing research project, found nearly 89,000 open violations in the city's housing inspection records; of 79,454 with repair deadlines, 77,117 were past due as of Sept. 30. The most common types involved smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, rodents or insects, and heating equipment.

Context  The report comes as the D.C. Council considers the Shared Housing Agreements and Resolution Effort (SHARE) Act, which would use early mediation between landlords and tenants to shorten eviction cases. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, the city's elected lawyer, supports the bill with changes that would raise mediation capacity from 2,000 to at least 5,000 cases a year. The report also found 14,503 active rental licenses with no matching Rent Registry record, which the Informer notes does not prove illegal renting, and $88 million in assessed penalties that are not confirmed as collected. The article does not include a response from city housing agencies.

Open enrollment for 2027 coverage through DC Health Link, the city's health insurance marketplace, runs from Sunday, Nov. 1, through Jan. 31, 2027, Mayor Muriel Bowser's office announced Wednesday. Residents can choose among 24 private plans, and the Healthy DC Plan, for residents with incomes up to twice the federal poverty level, adds vision and dental benefits for 2027.

Context  The city says DC Health Link has helped cut D.C.'s uninsured rate in half since 2013 and that about 96% of residents now have coverage. Residents can enroll at DCHealthLink.com, by phone at 855-532-5465, or with free help in person or online. The announcement does not say how premiums or federal subsidies will change for 2027.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs told federal prosecutors that his review found many of the 405 people the Justice Department flagged as possible noncitizen voters are U.S. citizens, and that withholding their ballots without individual proof of ineligibility would be unlawful. A Justice Department spokesperson said the two prosecutors who made the request will review his letter and decide next steps.

Context  Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. attorney in Seattle, and Pete Serrano, the top federal prosecutor in eastern Washington, asked Hobbs in a letter dated Monday to keep those ballots from being counted until citizenship is confirmed. Floyd has said the department found about 1,500 illegally cast ballots; no one has been charged. The Department of Homeland Security built the list by comparing public voter records with government data after the state declined to provide its full voter rolls, and Hobbs's office says some records show last votes in the 1990s. The department has made a similar request in California, where it sued over about 20,000 mail ballots.

The Spokesman-Review  ·  CBS News

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in a dispute over a Biden-era rule that let immigration judges pause some deportation cases, a practice called administrative closure. Baltimore; Columbus, Ohio; New Haven, Connecticut; and the legal group Centro Legal de la Raza had asked the justices to let them defend the rule after a lower-court judge refused.

Context  Texas sued over the rule, saying the practice had grown sharply under former President Biden, and the Trump administration agreed to a court order blocking it. The cities, represented by Democracy Forward, say the rule helped crime victims and neglected juveniles and argue that Texas and the administration ended it in court without public rulemaking; the Justice Department said the cities lacked standing and had not shown they would face immediate harm. The Associated Press did not report how the justices divided.

Thursday, 8:30 a.m.  ·  25 early vote centers across D.C.

In-person early voting is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Sunday, Nov. 1.

Thursday, 2:30 p.m.  ·  Online (Microsoft Teams; email vision.zero@dc.gov for the link)

The quarterly public meeting of the city's Major Crash Review Task Force.

Thursday, 7 p.m.  ·  Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW  ·  $27.50 in person (prices rise $5 the day before); $12 virtual

Authors Kelly Corrigan and Jennifer Wallace give talks and hold an on-stage conversation with local educators.