The only Republican candidate competing to fill an at-large D.C. Council seat in an April 26 special election will remain on the ballot despite challenges to the nearly 6,000 signatures on his petition to be a candidate.
Waard 8 Democrat Jacque Patterson was knocked off the ballot after he failed to overcome challenges to his petitions. Candidates needed at least 3,000 signatures to make the cut.
Two challenges were filed against Mara and he was given preliminary approval on March 7. But on Friday he was informed the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics had found what it believed to be fraudulent signatures on his petition after conducting a review.
On Tuesday the board concluded there were 160 signatures that appeared to be forgeries, but 136 had already been thrown out in two previous challenges. The ruling left Mara with 3,166 signatures on his petition — 166 more than he needed to stay on the ballot.
