Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh wants to keep all 143 of the District’s voting precincts open for the special election to elect an at-large council member scheduled for April, and she’s asked the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to dig deep on cost-saving opportunities.
Like the rest of city government, the elections board is under pressure to find way to cut costs as the District scrambles to reduce spending in the face of declining revenue. Earlier this month, the board of elections raised the possibility of opening just 16 voting centers as a way of saving about $200,000 for the special election to fill the seat vacated by Kwame Brown when he was sworn in as council chairman. Residents could cast ballots at any of the 16 centers regardless of where they live, and some studies have shown that voter participation goes up as a result.