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Committee reviews brief bill to require 49-day special election if D.C. delegate seat is vacant during mass House vacancies
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Summary
The D.C. Council's Committee on Executive Administration and Labor held a public hearing May 14 on Bill 26-136, which would require the Board of Elections to hold a special election within 49 days to fill the District's delegate seat if a federal law declaration creates mass vacancies in the U.S. House.
The Committee on Executive Administration and Labor on May 14 heard public testimony on Bill 26-136, the Special Election in the Office of Delegate Amendment Act of 2025, a short bill that would require the Board of Elections to hold a special election within 49 days when federal law conditions trigger mass vacancies in the U.S. House and a vacancy exists in the District's office of delegate.
Council Chairperson Anita Bonds, chair of the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor, opened the hearing by listing the bill among four measures scheduled for consideration and said the legislation was introduced to align local code with federal law. "This bill was introduced to ensure that DC code aligns with the federal law," she said during the committee's opening remarks.
Why it matters: The bill would create a specific, short timeline for filling the District's delegated representation in a rare national emergency scenario. Proponents told the committee the change would close a gap uncovered by a recent Government Accountability Office review of state-level procedures for special U.S. House elections.
Public testimony: James Harnett, a Ward 2 resident, told the committee he supported the bill and called it straightforward: "A short 4 line bill like this 1 deserves a short endorsement," he said. Harnett noted the GAO had profiled states and territories and found only nine had procedures aligned with the federal requirement. He urged the Council to adopt the measure quickly so the District would be compliant with federal rules in the event of a national crisis.
Council context: Chairperson Bonds framed the bill as an administrative alignment with federal law and noted the Council's interest in ensuring D.C.'s procedures conform to nationwide standards for continuity of representation. No formal action or vote occurred at the hearing; the committee solicited public and government testimony and said the written record would remain open through May 28, 2025.
What remains unresolved: The hearing did not include legal analysis of implementation costs, nor did it contain a motion or vote. The Board of Elections was not on the government witness list at this hearing to discuss operational readiness or logistics for a 49-day special election timeline.
Next steps: Committee staff said written testimony will remain part of the record through May 28; the bill may be revised based on witness input before any markup or vote.
