Committee advances petition-signing bill that bans correction fluid on nominating petitions

At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds, chairperson of the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor, summarized the petition-signing reforms the committee advanced during its Nov. 25 additional meeting. "As introduced, this bill would require candidate nomination petition affidavits to state that the circulator has not altered signer information on a petition after a signer has, in fact, signed the petition," Bonds said, and she added that the proposal would "expressively ban the use of correction fluid or tape on a petition."

The measure would also prohibit altering signer information provided by the petitioner except when the signer requests assistance and would require petition circulators to attest they have not made such alterations. Bonds told the committee the item drew substantial input at an earlier public hearing (June 13, 2025) and that the committee received 11 written testimonies. She also said the Board of Elections "subjected those who have used the whiteout frequently to a series of fines," describing past enforcement history the bill aims to clarify. The committee moved the bill into committee reports with leave for staff to make technical changes and passed the motion by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting transcript.