The

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(a political division coterminous with Washington, D.C.) holds

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s every two years to fill various D.C. government offices, including

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, members of the D.C. Council, members of the D.C. State Board of Education, and members of its

Advisory Neighborhood Commission Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are bodies of local government in District of Columbia, in the United States. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a District referendum (73 percent voted "yes") in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. ...

Special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

s may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Additionally, citywide ballot measures may be proposed and voted on.

Procedure

Elections in the

are administered by the D.C. Board of Elections.

Elected offices

Federal

President

Congress

According to the Article One of the Constitution, only states may be represented in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. The District of Columbia is not a U.S. state and therefore has no voting representation. In 1970, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Delegate Act, which established the

District of Columbia's at-large congressional district The District of Columbia's at-large congressional district is a congressional district based entirely of the District of Columbia. According to the U.S. Constitution, only states may be represented in the Congress of the United States. The Di ...

and permitted residents to elect a non-voting delegate to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. Nearly 100 years prior in the 1870s, the congressional district briefly existed before Congress abolished it in favor of direct rule. The majority of residents want the district to become a state and gain full voting representation in Congress. To prepare for this goal, the district has elected shadow representatives and shadow senators since 1990. The shadow congresspeople emulate the role of representing the district in the House and Senate and push for statehood alongside the House delegate.

Local

Mayor

Attorney General

The

Attorney General for the District of Columbia The Attorney General for the District of Columbia is the chief legal officer of the District of Columbia. While attorneys general previously were appointed by the mayor, District of Columbia voters approved a charter amendment in 2010 that ...

is an elected office.

D.C. Council

The

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state ...

is the elected legislative body of the city. Members serve four year terms.

D.C. Board of Education

The D.C. State Board of Education is an elected executive agency of the D.C. government that is responsible for managing the district's public education. Members serve four-year terms.

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions

Voting rights and voter powers

Ballot measures

Political parties

The District of Columbia recognizes four major

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

: *

District of Columbia Democratic State Committee The District of Columbia Democratic State Committee (DC Dems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the District of Columbia. As of March 31, 2016, Democrats make up 76 percent of the registered voters in the District of Columbia, while 6 p ...

, an affiliate of the

U.S. Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero An ...

District of Columbia Republican Party The District of Columbia Republican Party (DC GOP) is the District of Columbia affiliate of the United States Republican Party. It was founded on June 19, 1855 and is made up of registered Republican voters living in Washington, D.C. elected to ...

, an affiliate of

U.S. Republican Party The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

D.C. Statehood Green Party The Statehood Green Party, known as DC Statehood Party prior to 1999, is the progressive political party in the District of Columbia. The party is the D.C. affiliate of the national Green Party but has traditionally elevated issues of District ...

, an affiliate of the

U.S. Green Party The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green party, Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democra ...

Libertarian Party of the District of Columbia The Libertarian Party of the District of Columbia is a political party in the United States active in the District of Columbia. It is a recognized affiliate of the national Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party of the District of Columbia is ...

, an affiliate of

U.S. Libertarian Party The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at ...

To be a major party, it must be eligible to conduct a

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, and to be eligible, a political party must have received 7,500 cumulative votes for mayor, for councillor, for attorney general, or for U.S. presidential electors in the most recent general election. The district has a closed primary system, meaning that a voter may only participate in a political party's primary if they are a registered member of that party (typically the 21st day) before the primary. Minor political parties do not meet those qualifications or are established for the first time, and they may only participate in general elections. They include the

Socialist Workers Party of the District of Columbia The Socialist Workers Party of the District of Columbia is a minor political party in the District of Columbia The party advocates for statehood for the District of Columbia and ending Congressional control over the District's laws and finances. T ...

, an affiliate of the U.S. Socialist Workers Party which last participated in the 2020 general election, and the

Umoja Party The Umoja Party was a far-left political party in the District of Columbia. History Founding and 1994 general election Kemry Hughes helped found the Umoja Party in December 1993, and the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics appro ...

, which last participated in the 2000 general election.

Party strength

The Democratic State Committee dominates district politics. The city only ever elected a Democratic mayor and attorney general, only ever voted for the Democratic candidate for all of its federal offices, and elects the maximum number of Democratic candidates to its city council.

References

{{U.S. Elections by State Government of the District of Columbia Political events in Washington, D.C.