The board that oversees elections in the District needs $318,000, and it needs it now if the city is going to conduct a special election to fill the seat of a disgraced former member of the D.C. Council, panel members said Tuesday.
In a letter to Mayor Vincent Gray and Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Board of Elections said the planned election to replace former Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. might not happen unless the city allocates the necessary money quickly.
“With zero funding available, the board is at immediate risk of being unable to meet statutory milestones and obtain necessary supplies and equipment in sufficient time to conduct the May 15 Ward 5 special election,” board members wrote. “The board… cannot administer this special election if funds are not promptly made available.”
The panel said, among other tasks, it must mail postcard notices to voters in Ward 5 and order ballots by March 24.
A spokesman for Mayor Vincent Gray declined to comment on the letter because he had not had a chance to review it.
Thomas resigned from his seat shortly before pleading guilty to federal corruption charges in January.
