Washington, D.C. voters will have the chance to elect an attorney general in the upcoming months, thanks to a decision by the D.C. Court of Appeals. Currently, the attorney general is appointed by the mayor.

In 2010, voters approved a charter amendment authorizing the first election of the city’s attorney general and setting a primary election for April 2014. In late 2013, the council passed a law delaying the election from 2014 to 2018, fearing the city lacked the necessary preparation.

Paul Zukerberg, the only candidate for the city’s first attorney general race, challenged the 2013 law in court. On June 4, 2014, the Court of Appeals ruled an election must be held in 2014 unless it would not be practically possible for the D.C. Board of Elections to do so. The Court further noted the possibility of a 2015 election if a 2014 election is not possible.

Following a directive by the Court of Appeals to set a date for a special election in as few as 70 days, the D.C. Superior Court will now decide how soon the election must be held. Although the election is projected to be scheduled on November 4, 2014, the same day as the mayoral election, an election before November is also a possibility.

Photo of the John A. Wilson Building courtesy of Andrew Wiseman on Wikimedia Commons.