According to the DC Board of Elections, Initiative 86 has officially qualified for the November ballot with 31,726 valid signatures — the most of any ballot initiative in DC history.
The DC Board of Elections announced Wednesday that Initiative 86 has officially qualified for the November 3, 2026 General Election ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would prohibit the sale of foie gras produced through force-feeding in the District, with the law taking effect July 1, 2027.
George Cooper, the campaign’s top volunteer circulator said he got involved because, “the foie gras industry force-feeds ducks and geese until they get liver disease. It makes it hard for them to breathe and hard for them to walk. It’s probably one of the cruelest parts of our food system that is still legal in the United States.”
The campaign committee behind the measure, Pro-Animal DC, is made up of 202 petition circulators who together collected 31,726 valid signatures from DC voters during a 14 week period. To qualify, the initiative needed 23,803 valid signatures — five percent of the District’s registered voters — and had to meet that threshold in at least five of the city’s eight wards. Pro-Animal DC cleared the bar in six of eight wards, and the Board of Elections certified Wednesday that the petition contained sufficient valid signatures.
“We turned in the most signatures of any ballot initiative behind marijuana in DC history,” said Oye Owolewa, DC Shadow Representative and the current DC Democratic Party candidate for at-large councilmember. “DC residents want a cruelty-free district, making sure that their values align with where they eat.” Initiative 71 to legalize cannabis previously held the record at 27,688 valid signatures.
DC is the third-highest foie gras consuming city in the U.S., behind New York City and Las Vegas, according to a recent report published by Colorado State University’s Animal Human Policy Center. The product is controversial because it relies on force-feeding ducks and geese until they develop liver disease.
With Initiative 86’s certification, DC joins a growing list of jurisdictions confronting the practice. Similar laws exist in New York City, California, Pittsburgh, and Brookline, Denver, Colorado will vote on a similar ballot initiative this November, and Portland, Oregon passed a law to end foie gras sales in June.
The signature drive drew support from local elected officials, including DC Ward 8 Commissioner Salim Adofo, who personally collected 191 signatures. “I want to say thank you to Pro-Animal DC. I want to say thank you to everybody who went out in the hot sun and got signatures, everybody who was out in the rain, everybody who was at the farmers’ markets,” Adofo said. “This is a true representation of what democracy looks like.”
“How we treat animals reflects how we treat everyone in our society, and I truly believe that we can end the sale of force-fed foie gras here in DC and eventually end this cruel industry in the entire United States,” said Cady Witt, Campaign Director of Pro-Animal DC. “There are only two large foie gras factory farms left in the U.S. that force-feed birds and if we work together, I believe we can shut them down.”
Pro-Animal DC is the campaign committee behind Initiative 86 and is a grassroots movement of voters, volunteers, and donors dedicated to passing laws that reflect DC’s values of compassion and humane treatment of animals.
Embedded quote: How we treat animals reflects how we treat everyone in our society, and I truly believe that we can end the sale of force-fed foie gras here in DC and eventually end this cruel industry in the entire United States.
Author:
Cady Witt, Campaign Director, Pro-Animal DC
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