D.C. Board of Elections Chairman D. Michael Bennett will step down from the three-member board Sept. 30, he said in an interview, leaving the position vacant ahead of the 2022 primaries.
“These kinds of responsibilities and jobs — people shouldn’t sit in them forever,” Bennett said. “I’ve been there for five years, I feel I’ve made a difference.”
Bennett — whose role includes overseeing the District’s Office of Campaign Finance as well as the Board of Elections — was criticized by lawmakers during last year’s primary, as the city attempted to shift to a mostly by-mail election amid the coronavirus pandemic.
That June, many voters failed to receive their requested absentee ballots, spurring lines that stretched for blocks at the limited number of polling places that were open due to pandemic restrictions.
But voting outcomes improved in the November general election, when the board successfully mailed ballots to all registered voters and opened up dozens more polling places.
In his letter, Bennett encouraged the council and mayor to retain these popular voting options, including ballot drop boxes, in future elections.
Along with his resignation, Bennett pitched the mayor and council on a plan to combine the Office of Campaign Finance and the Board of Elections, which he says use separate systems and databases that could be streamlined, allowing residents to more easily track ballot initiatives and candidates.
Bennett also urged lawmakers to move swiftly to appoint a new chair ahead of next year’s election, especially if the council adopts a proposed bill that would bring ranked-choice voting to D.C. in 2024.
“If they do [ranked choice voting], that’s really different — you need systems in place to be able to manage that,” Bennett said. He also noted that 2022 will be the second election with an option for public campaign financing, which Bennett said could be even more popular among candidates next year.
“You have a significant election coming in 2022,” he added. “Whoever sits in that seat needs to be there sooner rather than later.”
He suggested they consider Dionna Lewis, a D.C.-based attorney who previously served on the elections board, as his replacement.
Under D.C. law, Bowser would nominate the next board chair and the council would confirm the nomination. “We appreciate his service,” Bowser’s spokeswoman LaToya Foster said.
Bennett’s departure comes after Alice Miller, the board’s executive director, announced last month that she would step down Aug. 1 and be replaced by her senior policy adviser, Monica Evans.
Miller, in turn, said she planned to stay with the board to serve as senior policy adviser to Evans.