Keep these dates in mind: August 4th, September 3rd, and November 2nd, 2010.
On Wednesday, August the 4th, the Board of Elections will begin giving out nomination petitions for the next ANC elections. Interested candidates will then have until close of business Friday, September the 3rd to return the petitions with the signatures of (at least) 25 registered voters who also live in the Single Member District (SMD) that they wish to represent. And on November 2nd, Election Day, the voters will make their selection. The winning candidates will take office after noon on January 2nd once they are sworn in.
Candidates must go to the Board personally to pick up their petitions, or send a representative to pick them up. (If you send a representative, you will need to give your representative a letter authorizing them to pick up the peititions on your behalf.) In addition to the petitions, the Board will also give the candidates a list of the registered voters who live in their SMD and a map of the SMD's boundaries. Candidates will also need to file a "Declaration of Candidacy." You can file this form when you pick up the petitions, or you can file it when you turn in your petitions, but you must file it before the September 3rd deadline.
The Board is located on the second floor of 441 4th Street NW in room 250N. Their phone number is (202) 727-2525. You can also pick up a lot of useful information by visiting their website at http://www.dcboee.org.
There are a few simple rules governing raising and spending campaign funds by ANC candidates. The Office of Campaign Finance provides information about the rules on their website.
Finally, the qualifications for running for ANC are also quite simple. You must be a registered voter and have lived in your SMD for 60 days before submitting your nomination petitions (in other words you must have begun living in your SMD by July 5th of this year.)
