Seventy of Washington's 345 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seats have no candidate on the Nov. 3 ballot, according to The Washington Informer.

The vacancies span the District but hit hardest east of the Anacostia River. A Sept. 11 Board of Elections roster showed 21 of 85 seats in Wards 7 and 8 without a candidate, roughly 25 percent, compared with about 15 percent in the other six wards, East of the River reported Oct. 15. Ward 7 had 11 gaps among 43 seats. Ward 8 had 10 among 42.

ANC commissioners serve unpaid, nonpartisan, two-year terms. Each represents roughly 2,000 residents. They review zoning, business licenses and street projects, weigh in on safety and budgets, and serve as the liaison between neighborhoods and the rest of D.C. government.

The job demands real time. ANC 8C Chair Salim Adofo told East of the River he puts in 20 to 30 hours a week. Commissioners carry those public expectations with limited authority and no salary.

Kent Boese, executive director of the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (OANC), told The Informer there is little cause for concern historically. Write-in candidates often fill empty seats on Election Day, he said. Seats still vacant in January tend to attract volunteers who show up at ANC meetings, go to the Board of Elections and are seated by February or March, he said.

Boese, a former ANC 1A commissioner and chair for 12 years, was appointed to lead the 10-person OANC four years ago. He told The Informer the agency is closely watching nearly a dozen single-member districts (SMDs) that have been leaderless for at least two years. A couple of those seats, representing American University in Northwest and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Southeast, were created during the 2021–2022 redistricting process.

Modernization bill pulled

On Oct. 26, Boese testified before the D.C. Council's Committee on Housing on the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Functions Modernization Amendment Act of 2026. The bill, introduced by committee chair and Councilmember Robert White (D-At Large), would have let OANC evaluate proposals for new SMDs and required the Council to consider the agency's findings when adjusting boundaries. It also would have established requirements for certain ANC seats to be considered vacant.

White withdrew the legislation after learning ANCs had not been consulted, The Informer reported, citing ANC 8A05 Commissioner Jamila White. The Informer reported that White's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jamila White, the ANC 8A chairperson, said on X on Oct. 26 that she and other commissioners spent four hours of their workday testifying on a bill that "was rushed and not properly socialized with ANCs beforehand."

@JamilaWhiteDC: "While I welcome the withdrawal, we need procedural changes and accountability to ensure legislation that directly impacts ANCs is accessibly by ANCs before it reaches a hearing. ANCs already serve without pay, and many of us had to take leave from our paid jobs to be there."

Robert White won the Democratic primary for D.C. delegate to Congress in June 2026. As we reported Oct. 28, he faces a separate question about his Council seat ahead of the election.

What's next

Outgoing ANC 6/8F Commissioner Markita Bryant, a Navy Yard resident who decided against a re-election bid, told The Informer the stakes for commissioners are high as National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers continue to accompany local police on District streets.

The deadline for a printed name on the Nov. 3 ballot passed Aug. 5, but eligible residents can still run as write-ins. Candidates must file an Affirmation of Write-In Candidacy with the D.C. Board of Elections by 5 p.m. Nov. 10.