D.C. early voting starts on Oct. 22

If Taylor Swift has inspired you to register to vote, the time is nigh in the District. The main deadline for registering to cast a ballot in the general election scheduled for Nov. 6 is next Tuesday, Oct. 16, according to the D.C. Board of Elections (DCBOE). Early voting will launch soon after that, on Oct. 22, and it will last through Nov. 2, including Saturdays and Sundays.

Hopeful voters can submit their registration applications via mail, DCBOE’s website, and its mobile app. But if you miss or aren’t able to make the Oct. 16 deadline, you can still register during the early voting period or on Election Day. DCBOE requires that people who apply at voting sites provide proof of District residency, which can be demonstrated with a valid D.C. driver’s license or resident ID, or a recent utility bill, bank statement, or check, among other documents. “Recent” is defined as no earlier than Aug. 6, 2018, 90 days before Election Day.

Early voting and same-day registration are available from Oct. 22 through Nov. 2 at the One Judiciary Square (441 4th St. NW) polling place. They’re also available from Oct. 26 through Nov. 2 at “satellite” early voting locations, with at least one in each ward of D.C. Per DCBOE:

• Ward 1—Columbia Heights Community Center (1480 Girard St. NW)
• Ward 2—One Judiciary Square (441 4th St. SW)
• Ward 3—Chevy Chase Community Center (5601 Connecticut Ave. NW), Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library (3310 Connecticut Ave. NW)
• Ward 4—Emery Heights Community Center (5801 Georgia Ave. NW), Takoma Community Center (300 Van Buren St. NW)
• Ward 5—Trinidad Recreation Center (1310 Childress St. NE), Turkey Thicket Recreation Center (1100 Michigan Ave. NE)
• Ward 6—King-Greenleaf Recreation Center (201 N St. SW), Sherwood Recreation Center (640 10th St. NE)
• Ward 7—Benning Stoddert Community Center (100 Stoddert Pl. SE), Deanwood Recreation Center (1350 49th St. NE)
• Ward 8—Barry Farm Recreation Center (1230 Sumner Rd. SE), Malcolm X Opportunity Center (1351 Alabama Ave. SE)

On Election Day (Nov. 6), the District will operate more than 140 polling places, although some have changed since the 2016 general election. Contests are being held for mayor, congressional delegate, attorney general, D.C. Council chairman, at-large councilmember (two of the four seats are up), Ward 1 councilmember, Ward 3 councilmember, Ward 5 councilmember, Ward 6 councilmember, shadow senator, shadow representative, state board of education representative (four of the nine seats—in Wards 1, 3, 5, and 6—are up), and advisory neighborhood commissioner (dozens are running in these hyperlocal races).

Because D.C. is a heavily Democratic city, many of the races for the most powerful seats (mayor, Council chairman, and various councilmembers) were effectively settled in the June Democratic primary. But one of the at-large councilmember races, over a seat designated for registered Independents on account of a quirk of District election law, continues to heat up.

• Voter Registrations Spike as Deadlines Loom. Taylor Swift Had Something to Do With It [New York Times]
• Incumbents Dominate D.C. Primary Elections [Washington City Paper]
• In D.C., a rare public display of mayoral muscle [Washington Post]