(a) To be certified by the Director of Campaign Finance as a participating candidate for a seat for a covered office in an election cycle, a candidate shall, during the qualifying period:
(1) Obtain the following:
(A) For a candidate for Mayor, qualified small-dollar contributions from at least 1,000 small-dollar contributors, which, in the aggregate, total $40,000 or more;
(B) For a candidate for Attorney General, qualified small-dollar contributions from at least 500 small-dollar contributors, which, in the aggregate, total $20,000 or more;
(C) For a candidate for Chairman of the Council, qualified small-dollar contributions from at least 300 small-dollar contributors, which, in the aggregate, total $15,000 or more;
(D) For a candidate for member of the Council elected at-large, qualified small-dollar contributions from at least 250 small-dollar contributors, which, in the aggregate, total $12,000 or more;
(E) For a candidate for member of the Council elected from a ward or member of the State Board of Education elected at-large, qualified small-dollar contributions from at least 150 small-dollar contributors, which, in the aggregate, total $5,000 or more; or
(F) For a candidate for member of the State Board of Education elected from a ward, qualified small-dollar contributions from at least 50 small-dollar contributors, which, in the aggregate, total $1,000 or more; and
(2) File, with the Director of Campaign Finance, an affidavit signed by the candidate and the treasurer of the candidate's principal campaign committee declaring that the candidate:
(A) Has complied with and, if certified, will continue to comply with the Fair Elections Program's requirements;
(B) If certified, will only run in that election cycle as a participating candidate;
(C) If certified, will only run during that election cycle for the seat for the covered office for which the candidate is seeking certification, including in both the primary and general elections, as applicable;
(D) Has otherwise qualified, or will take steps to qualify, for ballot access in accordance with the procedures required by the Board pursuant to § 1-1001.08, such as by filing a declaration of candidacy under 3 DCMR § 601 and a nominating petition containing the required number of valid signatures under 3 DCMR § 1605;
(E) Has paid any fines or penalties assessed for a violation of this chapter, whether or not those fines or penalties are due or delinquent at the time of filing the affidavit; and
(F) Has responded and will respond to all inquiries of the Board and the Director of Campaign Finance in a timely manner.
(b) No later than 10 business days after a candidate complies with subsection (a) of this section, the Director of Campaign Finance shall determine whether the candidate meets the requirements for certification described in subsection (a) of this section as a participating candidate, and:
(1) If the requirements are met, certify the candidate as a participating candidate; or
(2) If the requirements are not met, provide an opportunity to:
(A) Cure any deficiencies in the filing; and
(B) Appeal the determination within 10 business days after the candidate receives the determination.
(c) The Director of Campaign Finance shall revoke a certification made under subsection (b) of this section if a participating candidate:
(1) Fails to qualify for ballot access pursuant to § 1-1001.08;
(2) Does not continue to run as a participating candidate in that election cycle;
(3) Does not run for the seat for the covered office for which the candidate was certified during that election cycle, including in both the primary and general elections, as applicable;
(4) Terminates his or her candidacy; or
(5) Fails to comply with the Fair Elections Program's requirements.
(d) If a certification is revoked under subsection (c) of this section, the Director of Campaign Finance shall provide the candidate with the opportunity to appeal the revocation within 10 business days.
(e) If a certification is revoked under subsection (c) of this section, the participating candidate whose certification has been revoked shall remit to the Fair Elections Fund the remaining funds in the participating candidate's campaign accounts pursuant to § 1-1163.32h.
(Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 332c; as added May 5, 2018, D.C. Law 22-94, § 2(b)(5), 65 DCR 2847; Mar. 13, 2019, D.C. Law 22-250, § 6(jj), 66 DCR 985; Sept. 11, 2019, D.C. Law 23-16, § 1042(j), 66 DCR 8621; Mar. 16, 2021, D.C. Law 23-192, § 3(e), 68 DCR 1073.)