Election Day in D.C.: what to know before you vote Tuesday

By John M. Fredericks

Where to vote Tuesday, what to bring, what's changed since October, and why the ranked count will take a while.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, and voters can use any vote center in the city; mail ballots must be in a drop box by 8 p.m. or postmarked by Election Day and arrive within 10 days. The mayor's race is between Democrat Janeese Lewis George, independent Rhonda Hamilton and Robert L. Gross of the D.C. Statehood Green Party, and two at-large Council seats and a ballot measure about foie gras are also on the ballot.

Context  Mayor Muriel Bowser is not seeking a fourth term, so the city will have a new mayor. Ranked-choice voting is used in races with three or more candidates. Residents who are not U.S. citizens may vote in local races but not in federal ones.

In a statement shared in lawsuits over possible federal agents at polling sites, the FBI said it told all D.C.-based employees to avoid polling locations, except in the case of an active shooter, after agents on a roving foot patrol may have been seen near one. At a Monday hearing, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan said she hoped the government and the plaintiffs, the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens, could reach an understanding on immigration agents before Election Day.

Context  The agents work with President Trump's D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, a federal law enforcement effort in the city. National Guard troops were seen next to a ballot drop box in October, and the Guard's task force said its members are directed not to monitor polling sites. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has issued guidance on federal laws that bar armed federal officers from polling places, and the D.C. Board of Elections said poll workers were told to report inappropriate law enforcement presence. Trump administration officials have called concerns about federal agents at polling sites fear-mongering.

At-Large Council member Robert White, the Democratic nominee for D.C. delegate to the House, formally resigned Monday and spoke outside the John A. Wilson Building, where he thanked his staff and family. He said he wanted nothing that would even appear to stand between him and the delegate seat.

Context  What is new since Monday's edition is that the resignation has taken effect. White resigned to stay eligible under a 1970s law that bars the delegate from holding another paid public office on Election Day. If he wins, he would succeed longtime Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. The D.C. Democratic Party said last week it is working to fill the vacant at-large seat and would make its choice at an appropriate time.

The Washington Sun reports that the Trump administration plans to close East Potomac Park on Nov. 15 to build a championship golf course where East Potomac Golf Links now sits, though it is unsettled whether the whole park or only the course will close. Lawyers for the D.C. Preservation League, which is suing over the plans, said they will ask a federal judge for a temporary restraining order this week.

Context  East Potomac Park is federal land run by the National Park Service, so the city does not control it; the Park Service recently ended its partnership with the National Links Trust, which ran the course. A filing with the National Capital Planning Commission puts the cost of repairing the park's sinking seawall alone at $304.5 million. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the park already accommodates a golf course. The article includes no comment from the Park Service, the Interior Department or the White House.

On Monday the Supreme Court denied the Trump administration's emergency request to make California separate mail ballots from about 20,000 people the federal government flagged as likely noncitizens, with no public dissent and no explanation. Fox News reports that Justice Elena Kagan denied the request without referring it to the full Court; separately, Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington blocked the administration's related demands of California officials, finding they likely violate the Constitution.

Context  The Justice Department argued that setting the ballots aside would let their eligibility be checked without canceling legal votes, and that counting them first would cause harm that could not be undone. California officials said the federal list appears to contain errors that could disenfranchise eligible voters, and a department lawyer acknowledged in a lower court hearing that the list has a high error rate. A federal judge in Los Angeles and a divided appeals panel had already rejected the request. California has about 23 million registered voters.

AP via OPB  ·  Fox News

All 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships are on Tuesday's ballot. More than 57 million Americans voted early, according to the University of Florida Voting Lab.

Context  Republicans hold 218 House seats plus an independent who usually votes with them, Democrats hold 214, and two seats are vacant; in the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats 47. CBS News lists 11 key Senate races, eight in seats Republicans now hold and three in seats Democrats now hold.

Tuesday, 7 a.m.  ·  Election Day vote centers across D.C.

Vote centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and mail ballot drop boxes close at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, 5 p.m.  ·  Online (livestream at youtube.com/DCSBOE)

The elected board that sets statewide education policy for D.C. holds its monthly working session; the public can watch and may send written testimony at least 48 hours ahead.

Wednesday, 7 p.m.  ·  Politics and Prose at The Wharf, 610 Water St. SW  ·  Free

The MIT psychologist discusses her book on how people are affected by talking with AI chatbots, in conversation with Georgetown linguist Deborah Tannen; seating is first come, first served.