District of Columbia votes turn out for midterm primaries 

By DaQuan Lawrence, Ph.D. 
Special to the AFRO
DLawrence@afro.com 

Hundreds of thousands of voters cast a ballot between the early voting period and the June 16 primary election day in the District of Columbia. As of June 17, at 12 p.m., (just prior to the publication’s print deadline) Janeese Lewis George led the mayoral race and is expected to become the next mayor of the municipality affectionately known as “Chocolate City,” according to the D.C. Board of Elections.

Robert White Jr. led the race for the U.S. Delegate where citizens are selecting a replacement for tenured public servant Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has held the position for the previous 35 years. Brian L. Schwalb is the projected winner of the Democratic race for Attorney General, while Oye Owolewa is expected to win the race for the Democratic At-Large member of the Council of the District of Columbia. 

Voters cast their midterm election ballot during a climate of political and economic uncertainty. 

Polls were open until 8 p.m. at 75 locations throughout the city. 

Washingtonians travelled to locations such as Bunker Hill Elementary School and Turkey Thicket Recreational Center in Northwest throughout the day on June 16, with traffic accumulating on Michigan Avenue as election officials and campaign teams engaged voters. 

Groups of voters made the journey to the school and center during late afternoon toward the conclusion of the workday. Kweku Nkrumah, a native of the district, spoke with The AFRO about issues that were important to him during the primary election. 

“What is important to me is that candidates focus on helping returning citizens, education and healthcare,” Nkrumah said.

He also shared his motivations for voting during this critical election, and advice for young people who may be voting for the first time. 

“Voting is important. My mom always told me to vote. I have to do that–whether I like it or not,” Nkrumah said. “I would also tell young people to do their research before voting, and if they struggle with that, then come talk to older folks and exercise your right.”

Zeke Ghee, also originally from Washington D.C., shared his thoughts on the importance of voting. 

“Try to educate yourself about the voting process and vote for the right person that you feel will do the best of their ability, instead of only focusing on money and what tax return they will give,” Ghee said.  “There are a lot of homeless people in the city living in shelters and not getting proper food or treatment, and we need representatives who will address these things, touch our people, and rub elbows with us. Even if they are not in the same predicament, they can at least understand our experience.”

According to the D.C. Board of Elections, there are 482,968 registered voters in the District. This year, they used ranked choice voting (RCV) for the first time ever. The RCV system permitted voters to rank candidates based on their preference. 

According to the ACLU of D.C., this meant that instead of voting for just one candidate, voters could “rank up to five candidates for each office, in order of preference.” Voters could still “pick just one person to vote for or rank fewer than five people.”

“If one candidate in a race receives more than 50 percent of first choice votes, that candidate wins the election,” said information released by ACLU D.C. “If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first choice votes, then the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated in rounds of counting until there are only two candidates left. The candidate with the most votes wins.”

D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who currently represents Ward 2, threw her hat in the ring to replace longtime U.S. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. As of noon on June 17, she was trailing behind Robert White Jr.  by more than 40 points. 

“We are in the middle of a huge generational shift. We have had an incredible person and warrior on the Hill in Eleanor Holmes Norton for the last 35 years and I’m so grateful for all her service,” Pinto said. “As we work to build on that legacy, it is about fighting for the next generation in D.C. where it’s possible to address the skyrocketing costs of housing and create sustainable safety for all eight wards.”

Dawn Smith, a D.C. resident and member of Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (P.A.V.E.), told The AFRO she believed all the candidates should address youth issues in the District. 

“We ask citizens to specifically vote for who they think will be best for DC’s kids, and who will keep the District’s children in mind,” Smith said.  “We do a lot of advocacy work for students and youth around the city, and we are asking anyone seeking office on D.C.’s Council ‘What will you do for our kids?’”

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