A primary election is the "first step" in the election
process. In a primary, the voters registered with each
of the major political parties select their party's
representative, or nominee, to the general election.
Primaries are held only for partisan offices (such
as Delegate to the House, Mayor, Councilmember, and
Senator and Representative). Only the Democratic, Republican,
DC Statehood Green, and Umoja parties have qualified
to hold primaries in the District of Columbia.
Because primaries are party elections, only voters
registered with one of these parties may vote in their
party's election.
General Elections
The general election is the second, and final, step
in the election process. All public offices in the District
of Columbia including partisan and nonpartisan offices
are elected through the general election process. All
registered voters, including independents, may vote
in the general election.
For partisan offices, the nominees who win their party's
primary are listed on the ballot, along with any independent
or minor party candidates who have qualified for the
ballot by filing petitions.
Partisan offices, as mentioned above, include Delegate
to the House, Mayor, Councilmember, Senator, and Representative.
For the partisan offices, the candidate's party affiliation
appears next to his or her name on the ballot. If the
candidate is not affiliated with any political party,
the word "independent" is printed.
For nonpartisan offices (such as Board of Education
and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner) the candidate's
name is listed without party affiliation.
No primary election is held for nonpartisan
offices.
