The District’s April primary ballot will not include the city’s first attorney general election, in accordance with a Superior Court ruling issued Friday. Washingtonians in 2010 approved a charter amendment to make attorney general an elected, rather than appointed, position in 2014, but the D.C. Council has since attempted to cancel, then delay, such a vote. Superior Court Judge Laura A. Cordero on Friday afternoon denied a motion for injunction, after granting an emergency hearing for attorney general hopeful Paul Zukerberg on Thursday, just two days before the primary ballots headed to the printer.
Zukerberg, a Democrat who submitted more than 4,800 signatures to secure ballot access, sued to stop a D.C. Council bill that pushes back the race until 2018. The trial lawyer, who in 2013 ran unsuccessfully in an at-large D.C. Council seat, would have been the only candidate on the primary ballot. Following Cordero’s opinion, the D.C. Board of Elections will begin printing primary ballots without a slot for the office.
Despite the ruling, District voters may still get to have a go at electing an attorney general in November 2014.
Under a proposal from Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, the race would forgo primaries in April, instead allowing candidates to get on the ballot by indicating their party affiliation on the ballot. It would also end a ban on D.C. government lawyers running for office. The council will consider the bill on Feb. 10.
Full Article: Attorney General Election Excluded From D.C. Primary Ballot : Roll Call Hill Life.