Petition Administration Clarification Amendment Act of 2025
The Petition Administration Clarification Amendment Act of 2025 (B 26-0233) prohibits anyone from altering signature details on District of Columbia petitions after a person signs them, except when the signer requests assistance before signing. This bill directly affects campaign committees, initiative groups, and recall organizers who collect signatures for candidate nominations, initiatives, referendums, or recalls under DC law. The key provision bans circulators from editing, correcting, or changing any information provided by the signer after the signature is affixed, streamlining how the Board of Elections reviews petition challenges. It clarifies existing election rules to address modern petition practices, where digital tools eliminate the need for post-signature edits that were once common with printed forms.
Bill status
signed
all 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
Nov 2025
Council Passage
Jan 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Apr 28, 2025
Signed Apr 3, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossment
→
Enrollment
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was finalized and enacted into law, changing the effective date to after the Mayor's approval and a 30-day congressional review period. The text was standardized to include proper signatures for the Council Chairman and Mayor, and the citation year was updated from 2025 to 2026.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains unchanged; it continues to regulate petition circulators for candidate nominations, initiatives, referendums, and recalls.
TIMELINE
The effective date was updated to specify that the law takes effect after the Mayor's approval and a 30-day congressional review period.
TECHNICAL
The citation year in the short title was changed from 2025 to 2026.
Signatures and titles for the Council Chairman and Mayor were added to the final enrolled version.
Minor formatting and punctuation adjustments were made to align the text with standard legislative enrollment requirements.
Floor votes · Council Jan 6, 2026
How they voted
12–0
Passed
Total votes 12
Jan 6, 2026
D
Democratic11
100% Yea
I
Independent1
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
16
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Jan 6, 2026
Council · Passed
Council Vote: pass (12-0)
council
Nov 25, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Committee Mark-up of B26-0233 by the Executive Administration and Labor Committee
legislature
May 6, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Executive Administration and Labor
legislature
Apr 28, 2025
Introduced
B26-0233 Introduced by Councilmember Bonds at Office of the Secretary
legislature
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Anita Bonds
DDemocratic
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