1405.1 Before the nominating petition is filed, all sheets which comprise the petition shall be assembled and serially numbered.

1405.2 At the time of filing the nomination by petition, the following affidavits, forms, and declarations shall be filed on forms prescribed by the Board:

1. (a) If the petition nominates a specific presidential candidate, an affidavit executed personally by the presidential candidate (“Affidavit of Presidential Nominee Candidate”) naming the candidates for delegate and alternate and stating their consent to the following:
2. (i) the appearance of his or her name on the primary ballot; and
3. (ii) if applicable, the appearance of each named delegate/alternate being listed on the ballot (or separate handout) as committed to his or her candidacy;
4. (b) If the petition nominates “uncommitted” delegates, one of the following affidavits or forms:
5. (i) If the party plan does not require the listing of delegates/alternates on the ballot or separate handout, an affidavit filed by the sponsor of the petition effort that he or she is a sponsor of the petition to place “uncommitted” on the ballot; or
6. (ii) If the party plan requires listing of delegates/alternates on the ballot or separate handout, a “Delegate Slate Registration Form” which provides the names of all candidates for delegate/alternate, and the name, address, telephone number and signature of the individual who is authorized to represent the delegates/alternates in matters before the Board;
7. (c) A Declaration of Candidacy for each candidate for delegate and alternate, as required by Chapter 6 of this title; and
8. (d) An affidavit from each candidate for delegate and alternate stating

that he or she was properly selected as a delegate/alternate pursuant to party rules (“declaration of proper selection”).

1405.3 The nominating petition and supporting affidavits described in this section, as well as Declarations of Candidacy from each candidate for delegate and alternate (when applicable) as required pursuant to chapter 6 of this title, shall be filed in-person at the Board’s office no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 90th day preceding the election (“petition-filing deadline”). Any candidate may file petition supplements prior to the petition-filing deadline. All petitions and supplements shall be received by the Executive Director or his or her designee if filed on or before the petition-filing deadline. All petitions and supplements shall be accompanied by an affidavit executed by the person filing the petition or supplement attesting that to the best of his or her knowledge, the petition is complete and contains the legally required number of valid signatures.

1405.4 Within three (3) business days following the petition-filing deadline, the Executive Director or his or her designee shall issue a preliminary determination of petition sufficiency. In order to be determined sufficient, a petition nominating a candidate shall:

(a) Contain the minimum statutory number of signatures required to obtain ballot access for the office sought;

(b) Be on a form issued by the Executive Director or his or her designee in accordance with the rules of this chapter; and

(c) Be accompanied by the affidavits described in this section and the Declarations of Candidacy required by Chapter 6.

1405.5 In determining whether the minimum statutory number of signatures is contained in the nominating petition, the Executive Director or his or her designee shall not count any signatures submitted on petition pages that fail to include a completed circulator’s affidavit or any signatures of registered voters who submitted a written notarized request to disallow the voter’s signature from being counted on the petition; provided, that the request shall be received prior to the time the petition is filed.

1405.6 Notice of the Executive Director’s preliminary determination of petition sufficiency shall be served immediately by email or first-class mail upon each candidate for delegate and alternate.

1405.7 In the event that it is determined that a candidate’s nominating petition is insufficient, the candidate’s nominating petition shall nevertheless be posted for the challenge period specified in D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.08 (o) (2011 Repl.),

along with the Executive Director's preliminary determination.

1405.8 Within three (3) days of issuing a notice of petition insufficiency, a candidate aggrieved by the decision may file a written notice of appeal with the Board, duly signed by the candidate and specifying concisely the grounds for appeal.

1405.9 The Board shall hold a hearing on the appeal within three (3) days after receipt of the appeal notice.

1405.10 The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures provided in the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, (D.C. Official Code §§ 2-501 et seq. (2011 Repl.)), and may be heard by a one-member panel (D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.05 (g) (2011 Repl.)).

1405.11 Any appeal from a decision of a one-member panel to the full Board shall be taken in the manner prescribed by D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.05 (g) (2011 Repl.); however, in no case shall the time allowed for the appeal exceed three (3) business days from the date of decision of the one-member panel.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 27 DCR 2763 (June 27, 1980), incorporating the text of Proposed Rulemaking published at 27 DCR 1929, 1972-73 (May 9, 1980); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 2006, 2018 (March 11, 1988); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 43 DCR 1350, 1353 (March 15, 1996); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 61 DCR 625 (January 24, 2014).