New Roadblocks For Petition To Ban Corporate Campaign Contributions In D.C.

The activists behind Initiative 70, which would ban corporate contributions in local D.C. elections, are still fighting to make November's ballot, despite new hurdles involving the thousands of signatures they have gathered.

The D.C. Committee to Restore Public Trust is challenging the D.C. Board of Election's decision to throw out the initiative, because the group, according to the board, did not turn in enough valid signatures. The activists countered that the board's math is wrong. They reviewed the petitions and found that they had easily met the 23,300 signature threshhold.

That's where things get complicated.

Bryan Weaver, one of the organizers behind the initiative, says that the copies of the signatures that the group was given by the board to review were in black and white. The board uses a complicated color-coded system with green and red check marks.

There are also still questions as to why the board struck certain signatures. Weaver himself found that his signature, along with that of other members of the group, were not included in the list.

Weaver says the group will be back in court next Thursday to find out if they still have a chance to be on November's ballot.