The complaint filed by Tom Smith Oct. 22 challenging Tyler Sadonis’ eligibility for election to an Advisory Neighborhood Commission seat may not come to a Board of Elections and Ethics hearing.
Sadonis must earn enough write-in votes to challenge Smith before the Board of Elections and Ethics will hold a hearing to see if Sadonis fulfills residency requirements.
The complaint may never be settled, according to Alysoun McLaughlin, BOEE spokesperson, because there may not be enough write-in ballots to challenge Smith’s re-election.
Smith filed a complaint Oct. 22 that said Sadonis, a write-in candidate, has not been a resident of D.C. long enough to be eligible for election to the local ANC.
Write-in ballots are only counted if they would affect the outcome of the race, so the BOEE will only hold a hearing if the candidate on the ballot does not win outright, according to McLaughlin. If Smith is certified as the winner, there is no reason for the BOEE to take more action, McLaughlin said.
Current ANC 3D 02 Commissioner Smith has 146 votes from Precinct 9, and Sadonis has 11 from electronic ballots only. There were 36 total write-in votes, The Eagle previously reported.
D.C. Official Code says candidates for the delegate, mayor, chairman, council and board of education races must be “qualified electors” and “bona fide” D.C. residents for a continuous 90-day period, ending on Election Day, The Eagle previously reported.
ANC regulations say candidates must be residents in their Single Member Districts for 60 days before the election and 60 days before filing a petition for their name to appear on the ballot.
There are no specific rules, however, for ANC write-in candidates.
If Sadonis must be a resident by the Sept. 3 petition-filing deadline, he would have had to be a “bona fide” SMD 3D 02 resident and “qualified elector” by July 4. If the deadline was Election Day, he had to be a resident by Sept. 3. If the 90-day rule applies, then his move-in deadline was Aug. 5.
Sadonis moved into McDowell Hall Aug. 14., he said.
sdazio@theeagleonline.com
