The House backed legislation this evening that would shorten the window between a vacancy in a local office and when a special election may be held to fill it. The bill passed on a voice vote. “Today [is a] small change to everyone except to the people of the District of Columbia, who consistently have to live under a rule that costs the voters and the residents of the District of Columbia … enormous additional dollars,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which oversees D.C. affairs. This is the second time Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) has pursued such legislation, which would apply to unexpected D.C. Council, mayoral and attorney general vacancies.
In the previous Congress, she introduced a bill that would have changed the waiting time from 114 days to 70 days. It passed the House without controversy but stalled in the Senate when an unnamed lawmaker blocked action. Norton suspects it was a Senator looking to gain political leverage on an unrelated issue. Few paid much attention at the time, but the political situation in D.C. has made the legislation even more urgent.
Full Article: House Backs D.C. Special Elections Bill : Roll Call News.