D.C. Primary Guide: Where to Vote and What to Know

For the first time in more than a decade, D.C. is staring down a truly unpredictable election.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton are retiring. Ranked-choice voting is making its debut. And thanks to the city’s overwhelming Democratic tilt, candidates who survive the June 16 primary are all but guaranteed to win in November’s general election — inheriting a city grappling with an affordability crisis, public safety anxieties and a White House that has shown a willingness to flex its muscles over local affairs.

Between the new ballot math and a special election scheduled for the same day, voting in this year’s election requires a bit more effort than simply checking a box for an incumbent. The following guide breaks down how this election works, the field of candidates and what voters need to know before heading to the polls.

So, Bowser and Norton are both retiring. Who is on the ballot?

The mayoral race has largely consolidated into a sharp, two-way ideological battle between Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie, a pair of D.C. Council members who offer dramatically different visions for the city’s future. While polling has consistently shown Lewis George with an edge among likely voters, at least a quarter of voters remain undecided about the race.

However, a vocal contingent of first-time, “outsider” candidates, including Gary Goodweather and Rini Sampath, are running on reform platforms and hoping the new ranked-choice voting math gives them an opening.

Lewis George, a Democrat who represents Ward 4, is campaigning on an ambitious, progressive platform. Backed by a swath of labor unions and advocacy groups, she is pushing for significant reductions in child care costs and utility bills alongside a significant expansion of publicly owned housing.

Critics, namely McDuffie, have described her platform as fiscally impractical given the city’s economic headwinds following last year’s widespread job cuts. But Lewis George maintains that the city’s current trajectory requires bold, structural change rather than incrementalism.

After vacating his independent council seat to enter the mayoral race, McDuffie is pitching himself as the pragmatic choice — building his platform around public safety and economic stability. He has frequently leveraged the 13 years he spent as a lawmaker in his mayoral run, arguing that D.C.’s fiscal health must be a prerequisite for all other progress. He frequently warns against proposals that he says could jeopardize the District’s standing with the business community or federal government.

Further down the ballot, the race to succeed Norton as D.C.’s nonvoting delegate to Congress is also a contest to decide who will serve as the city’s primary voice on the national stage. A poll from City Cast DC shows Council members Robert White Jr. (D-At Large) and Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) leading a crowded field that includes former Norton staffer Trent Holbrook.

Additionally, the primary includes high-stakes contests for Council seats in Wards 1, 5, 6, the at-large seat held by retiring Council member Anita Bonds and the city’s attorney general.

Is National Politics a Factor in This Local Election?

While President Donald Trump has not weighed in on any specific local race, his influence has been pervasive throughout this election cycle. Because Congress retains absolute authority over the District’s budget and laws, the city’s relationship with the federal government has become a primary concern for voters and a defining, sometimes suffocating, factor in local campaigns.

How Are Candidates Approaching the Issue of Federal Overreach?

Candidates are divided on how to best manage the city’s relationship with the federal government, particularly the potential for further, hostile intervention. While McDuffie and Lewis George have both committed to sunsetting an existing mayoral order that permits cooperation between D.C. police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they disagree on the broader strategy.

Lewis George advocates for a strategy of outright resistance. She argues that D.C. needs a chief executive willing to use every available legal tool to combat federal overreach. Conversely, McDuffie warns that openly antagonizing the White House and Congress is too risky and could, in a worst-case scenario, trigger the installation of a federal control board, stripping the city of its limited home rule.

Ranked-Choice Voting Is Making Its Debut. How Does the Math Actually Work?

In 2024, D.C. voters overwhelmingly passed Initiative 83, implementing ranked-choice voting in the city’s elections starting this year. The ballot now appears as a grid, allowing voters to rank up to five candidates per contest in order of preference.

If a candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the race is over. Without a clear majority, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and their votes transfer to their voters’ next-preferred choices. This process repeats until someone crosses the 50% mark. The city’s Board of Elections notes that voting for a single candidate is acceptable, and listing backup choices won’t hurt your top pick. Just be careful: Marking more than one bubble in the “first choice” column will void your ballot for that race.

When Should Final Results Be Expected?

Don’t expect to know the winners on election night. Because of the sheer volume of mail-in ballots dropped off at the last minute, election officials warn that many tight races could remain up in the air for at least five days.

When the polls close, the board will only report first-choice votes. To ensure accuracy, officials will wait until June 21 to run the actual ranked-choice elimination rounds, giving them time to process mail ballots and check voter signatures.

This means that, unless candidates like Lewis George or McDuffie clear the 50% threshold right out of the gate, voters will have to wait nearly a week for final results.

Can Independents Vote in the Primary or Special Election?

Even though Initiative 83 was also intended to open up the city’s primary elections to independent voters, the D.C. Council has only provided enough funding to implement the ranked-choice voting portion of the law.

Registered independents are locked out of the mayoral and ward-level primaries in this election cycle. You must be registered with a political party to vote.

Independents can, however, vote in Tuesday’s special election to fill the at-large council seat vacated by McDuffie. These voters will receive a ballot that only includes the special election.

Where Do I Vote?

Early voting started this week, and more than 31,000 residents had cast ballots as of Tuesday, according to the city’s elections board. Voters have several to cast their ballots.

• Drop Boxes: Voters can drop their ballots off at any of the official secure ballot drop boxes located throughout the District. These boxes are available 24/7 and will remain open until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

• Early Vote Centers: Voters can cast their ballot in person at any Early Vote Center through Sunday, June 14. Centers are open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

• Election Day Vote Centers: On Tuesday, voters can go to any Vote Center in the city between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
  

Note that in D.C., voters are not assigned to a specific polling place and may use any of the designated centers or ballot drop boxes across the city regardless of home address.

To find the closest location, use the D.C. Board of Elections’ locator tool.