FW: Letter to Monica Evans DCBOE Exec Director
rbob.king
December 12. 2025
Ms. Monica Evans
Executive Director
DC Board of Elections
Dear Monica,
In our letter dated December 9, 2025, we felt compelled to reiterate our “Leave No Vote Behind “ report research which indicated there would not be adequate time for the Board of Elections (BOE) to implement RCV in time for the June 16, 2026, Primary Election. The Committee underscored that our primary concern is that the BOE will not have adequate time to provide an effective, hands-on outreach, registration and education to senior citizens, marginalized and vulnerable populations.
Our comments were taken from excerpts of the transcript of November 24, 2025, Roundtable, so we apologize if any of the information was incorrect, however our bottom-line recommendation is the same: The BOE lacks sufficient time and resources to effectively operationalize a robust, hands-on outreach, education, and registration program between the January 23, 2026 when candidates pick up petitions and the June 16, 2025 Primary.
Although much of the responsibility for establishing the infrastructure for the 2026 election will fall on your shoulders, there are many factors that are beyond your control that have and will contribute to making 90 days inadequate to operationalize a RCV election. We are sure that you do not want to have the inevitable end result which would be comparable to a modern-day form of disenfranchisement. We suggest, therefore, that you make a public statement acknowledging this reality and give your support to Councilmember Wendell Felder’s legislation which recommends a need assessment be done before RCV is implemented.
Even without an outreach to the vulnerable populations and marginalized communities, you simply cannot do the outreach effectively within the limited timeframe. If BOE were to do a hands-on outreach, education and registration effort for senior housing residents alone, it would be more than a massive and unachievable goal in ninety days.
Consider, for example, that BOE would be required to develop an outreach strategy and timeline, secure a list of senior and family properties; make contact with building managers and leaders; assign BOE staff; coordinate outreach dates; create flyers in large print, Braille and various languages; send out notices to the specific buildings, bring out the voting machines, arrange for refreshments, organize and perform the educational program.
To be effective, BOE would have to take with them voter registration forms, voting machines, an instructional video, handouts in large print, a sign language interpreter and a visually impaired specialist to each of the senior building sites. With no dedicated RCV staff and only four staff people and yourself, you simply would not be able to cover the city.
Consider for example if you were to provide outreach to only three forms of senior residences, not including nursing homes and other facilities:
CITYWIDE
· Citywide there are 154 properties comprised of senior residences, family residences, private single-family homes and assisted living facilities with varying unit sizes
· There are 62 public housing properties citywide of which 25 are dedicated to senior citizens and the remainer are family properties and single-family homes
· The buildings range from the smallest with 14 units to the largest which has 346 units
· There are 58 private senior residences citywide
· There are 34 assisted living residences citywide
· Any services that BOE offers to public senior housing should also be made available to private senior residences.
PRIVATE RESIDENCES
· Private senior properties range from 25 units to 304 units
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES
· The Assisted Living facility residences range from 14 to 305 units
WARD 5
Even if BOE singled out Ward 5 alone, the challenge would be overwhelming when you consider that:
· Ward 5 is home to Ft. Lincoln, and it has the largest concentration of senior living facilities anywhere in the city (approximately 2,500) units and homes;
· Increasingly, senior housing is not limited to seniors but also includes individuals of all ages including persons with physical, emotional and mental health issues, as well as other related disabilities.
As we described in our “Leave No Vote Behind” report, BOE simply cannot do everything necessary in the limited time allowed. In addition to the overwhelming time constraints to implementing an effective outreach and education program, the BOE has numerous other resource obstacles. For example:
· Due to federal cuts, there is no money in the Mayor’s budget specifically for RCV implementation;
· The Council’s budget proposed by Chairman Mendelson does not include money for RCV outreach, education or implementation.;
· An oral motion that passed the Council allotted $421,000 to RCV implementation however it is inadequate for the monumental task ahead;
· You couldn’t spend the appropriated funds until the beginning of the fiscal year on October1, 2025;
· BOE’s federal budget was cut, so even though you will require more staff to implement the program, prepare and count the ballots, you will not have the funds to pay for overtime;
· BOE will need to purchase additional touch screens for the voting precincts because the 2-sided, 17-inch-long ballot will take longer for each person to vote;
· There are only two DCBOE Board members, the new board member has no;t been confirmed by the Council and will not join the board until January 2026
· You were never given the luxury or the time to provide a website dedicated to RCV or a redline threshold, as required by law.
We recognize that time, money and infrastructure constraints have been imposed on you, yet as a seasoned professional you want to deliver the best product possible. Our committee members have partnered with you dating back to the Pandemic, so we understand your commitment. We worked with you going to senior buildings to install voting containers and we distributed thousands of doorknockers and election placards as a special pilot project. We know your heart and understand that you want to do autograph your work with excellence, but it simply isn’t humanly possible given the money, staff and particularly the time limitations.
We ask that you make a public statement outlining the constraints preventing the BOE from providing a robust hands-on, outreach, education and registration program and recommend support of Councilmember Wendell Felder’s legislation to provide a needs assessment before RCV is implemented.
Sincerely
Ward 5
Leadership Council Co-Conveners
Robert “Bob” King, Mayor of Ft. Lincoln
Hazel Bland Thomas, Ward 5 Democratic Committeewoman