Practically everyone is relieved that the acrimonious DC Democratic Primary is over. It was one of the most important elections since the beginning of Home Rule and brought a tsunami of change. We will get a new mayor and delegate to Congress. Three self-proclaimed democratic socialists are on course to take positions in the Wilson Building. Progressive insurgents won 75% of the seats on the DC Democratic State Committee, the governing body of the DC Democratic Party.
And the DC voters survived ranked-choice voting. Most of the voters I spoke with liked the new voting process.
The turnout on June 16 was nearly 32% of all DC registrants, and the Democratic turnout was nearly 40%. Political pundits say the Democratic turnout is typical for a primary election. However, I think our electoral expectations and standards should be higher.
Voting in DC is extremely convenient. All those registered to vote receive ballots by mail and do not have to pay to return them. During the month before Election Day, DC voters can mail their ballots, drop them off at drop boxes or vote early. There were many candidate forums. The campaigns sent out enough oversized cards to wallpaper people’s homes. The television, radio and social media platforms were awash with advertisements. The doors of homes were almost knocked down by zealous campaign workers. Yet, over half of the registered voters opted not to participate.
The east-of-the-river turnout was the lowest. Ward 7 had a turnout of 25% and Ward 8 was 20%. These are ingredients in a recipe for political disempowerment.
It is time for DC’s political activists and community leaders to do some serious thinking and rigorous strategizing about how to increase voter turnout. There has been a major development that will increase turnout in future Democratic primaries. The DC Council voted on June 23 to fund semi-open primaries. So, in the future, registered independents will be able to vote in the party primary of their choice. Semi-open primaries were the other part of Initiative 83, which also gave us ranked-choice voting. If, in 2025, the DC Council had approved funding for Initiative 83 (which 73% of voters approved), independents would have been able to vote in the June 16 primary.
It was sad to see some DC political leaders cling to the closed primaries, which, in my opinion, are forms of political exclusion, electoral segregation and voter suppression. I hope DC voters remember those political activists and leaders who fought against election reform. I am a firm believer that a person’s views on election reform offer insight into their political vision and values.
Amid my disappointment with the voting turnout, there is something I am celebrating. I was elected the Democratic National Committeeman for DC. I will follow in the footsteps of those who held that position: John Hechinger, John Wilson, Jack Evans, Arrington Dixon, Vincent Orange, Kevin Chavous Jr. I pledge to do my best to heighten the profile and raise the decibel level for DC statehood and push the national Democratic Party to make statehood more of a part of our country’s political conversation. Also, I pledge to serve only one term.
I encourage my potential successors to start grooming themselves now.
Long-time Ward 8 community activist Philip Pannell can be found at philippannell@comcast.net.
