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Lewis George leading primary for mayor; Robert White wins delegate primary
D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is leading the Democratic primary for mayor, according to early results reported Wednesday morning, while Robert White Jr. has won the Democratic primary for the District’s delegate seat in Congress.
WASHINGTON - Nearly a day after polls closed for Tuesday's democratic mayoral primary in Washington, D.C., voters are still waiting for thousands of votes to be counted.
FULL 2026 D.C. PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS
When will Washington, D.C. release votes?
What we know:
Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
It took hours before The Associated Press declared Robert White had won the Democratic nomination for D.C.'s U.S. delegate election. But, as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, the D.C. Board of Elections had counted less than two-thirds of first round votes, and the results of the mayoral election are still in question.
Early numbers show the race is between two candidates — District councilmember Janeese Lewis George and former councilmember Kenyan McDuffie — but it could be a while before we learn definitively who will be moving on to November's general election.
Here's why results could be delayed.
Voting lines
Dig deeper:
While polls officially closed at 8 p.m., that doesn't mean all the votes were in at that time.
According to the DCBOE, anyone in line at a polling location at the 8 p.m. cutoff is allowed to vote. Officials don't release results until every one of those people has cast their ballot.
The first batch of results wasn't released until shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday, which could be caused by any long, slow line at any individual polling place.
Mail-in ballots
Mail-in ballot deadlines can also lead to vote counting delays, because not all of those ballots are in by Election Day.
In order for a mail-in ballot to be counted, it must be postmarked on or before election day, but, according to the DCBOE, your ballot has until June 26 to get there in order to count in this primary.
Mail-in and special ballots have made up the majority of total votes in the District's last two general elections, so they will have a major impact on the final vote totals.
Ranked-choice voting
In ranked-choice voting, voters will choose up to five candidates on the ballot for a position, and rank them in the order of their preference to fill that position.
RELATED: How DC's new ranked choice voting ballot works
Once votes are submitted, officials count votes in rounds, starting with the first-choice votes. If any candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, they win. But, if no one meets that threshold, the candidate who received the fewest votes that round is eliminated from contention.
The counting continues with the second-choice votes, and the process continues until one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.
Officials are expected to release results round by round.
When will results be announced?
What's next:
It's not clear when D.C. will learn who will move on to the November General election.
But, whenever the election is called, the results will have to be certified. The D.C. Board of Elections plans to certify results on July 17. From then, candidates will have until July 24 to request a recount.
The Source: Information in this story is from the District of Columbia Board of Elections and previous FOX 5 DC reports.