Rehearing request denied in Kenyan McDuffie's latest attempt to get back on DC AG ballot

WASHINGTON - D.C. councilmember Kenyan McDuffie's latest request for a full rehearing in his attempt to get back on the District's Attorney General ballot has been denied. The D.C. Court of Appeals announced the decision on Saturday.

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McDuffie was dropped from the ballot earlier this month after D.C.’s Board of Elections ruled that he wasn’t qualified to run for the seat. The ruling was made because of a D.C. law requiring that an Attorney General candidate must have been actively engaged as an attorney for at least 5 of the 10 years. McDuffie is an attorney, but has been serving on the D.C. Council since 2012.

Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The challenge to McDuffie's candidacy was brought on by another candidate for District Attorney General Bruce V. Spiva.

The D.C. Court of Appeals heard arguments earlier this week on the decision to drop McDuffie from the June primary ballot for District attorney general. On Thursday, the court announced it upheld the decision made by the D.C. Board of Elections in a unanimous vote, prompting McDuffie to file a petition for a full rehearing.

In the appellate court ruling, the three-judge panel disagreed with McDuffie’s argument that his decade on the D.C. Council counted towards the statutory requirements for the position. The ruling states that "allowing an individual to serve as Attorney General simply because they are an attorney and work in a non-lawyer capacity for the District, as a school nurse or IT expert, for instance, hardly seems to serve the aims of adding an experiential requirement to the minimum qualifications for the office."

The Board of Elections website indicates the appellate court’s decision is final.

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D.C.’s primary is June 21.