Voting rights/convictions

AN ACT Relating to revoking a person's voting rights only when 1
convicted of a state crime punishable by death; amending RCW 2
29A.04.079, 29A.08.520, 29A.08.230, 29A.08.810, 29A.40.091, 3
29A.68.020, 10.64.140, 72.09.275, and 2.36.070; adding a new section 4
to chapter 29A.08 RCW; and creating a new section. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
Sec. 1. RCW 29A.04.079 and 2013 c 11 s 3 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
An "infamous crime" is a state crime punishable by death ((in the 9
state penitentiary or imprisonment in a state or federal correctional 10
facility)). Neither an adjudication in juvenile court pursuant to 11
chapter 13.40 RCW, nor a conviction for a misdemeanor ((or)), gross 12
misdemeanor, or felony that is not punishable by death , is an 13
"infamous crime." This definition applies for purposes of voter 14
qualifications and does not apply when the term "infamous crime" is 15
used in other titles of the Revised Code of Washington, unless 16
otherwise stated or the context requires otherwise.17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 29A.08 18
RCW to read as follows: 19
H-0342.1
HOUSE BILL 1196
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Simmons, Mena, Ryu, Ormsby, and Hill
Prefiled 01/08/25. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on State Government & Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 1196
A person's right to vote is revoked by reason of a criminal 1
conviction only if that person is convicted in a Washington state 2
court of an infamous crime and sentenced to a term of total 3
confinement under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections, 4
as defined in RCW 29A.04.079. Such a person's right to vote is 5
automatically restored in accordance with RCW 29A.08.520.6
Sec. 3. RCW 29A.08.520 and 2021 c 10 s 1 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
(1) For a ((felony conviction in a Washington state court )) 9
person whose right to vote was revoked pursuant to section 2 of this 10
act, the right to vote is automatically restored as long as the 11
person is not serving a sentence of total confinement under the 12
jurisdiction of the department of corrections. ((For a felony 13
conviction in a federal court or any state court other than a 14
Washington state court, the right to vote is automatically restored 15
as long as the person is no longer incarcerated. )) A person who has 16
been convicted ((of a felony and is either sentenced to a term of 17
total confinement under the jurisdiction of the department of 18
corrections or otherwise incarcerated as provided for in this 19
subsection)) in a Washington state court of an infamous crime and 20
whose right to vote has been automatically restored must reregister 21
to vote prior to voting. 22
(2) At least once a month, the secretary of state shall compare 23
the list of registered voters to a list of persons who are not 24
eligible to vote as provided in section 2 of this act and subsection 25
(1) of this section. If a registered voter is not eligible to vote as 26
provided in this section, the secretary of state or county auditor 27
shall confirm the match through a date of birth comparison and 28
suspend the voter registration from the official state voter 29
registration list. The secretary of state or county auditor shall 30
send to the person at his or her last known voter registration 31
address and at the department of corrections, if the person is 32
serving a sentence of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the 33
department, a notice of the proposed cancellation and an explanation 34
of the requirements for restoring the right to vote and 35
reregistering. To the extent possible, the secretary of state shall 36
time the comparison required by this subsection to allow notice and 37
cancellation of voting rights for ineligible voters prior to a 38
primary or general election. 39
p. 2 HB 1196
(3) For the purposes of this section, a sentence of total 1
confinement does not include confinement imposed as a sanction for a 2
community custody violation under RCW 9.94A.633(1).3
Sec. 4. RCW 29A.08.230 and 2021 c 10 s 2 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
For all voter registrations, the registrant shall sign the 6
following oath: 7
"I declare that the facts on this voter registration form are 8
true. I am a citizen of the United States, I will have lived at this 9
address in Washington for at least thirty days immediately before the 10
next election at which I vote, and I am at least sixteen years old. I 11
am not disqualified from voting due to a court order, and I am not 12
currently serving a sentence of total confinement under the 13
jurisdiction of the department of corrections for a ((Washington 14
felony conviction, and I am not currently incarcerated for a federal 15
or out-of-state felony convictio n)) conviction in a Washington state 16
court of an infamous crime." 17
Sec. 5. RCW 29A.08.810 and 2023 c 466 s 28 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
(1) Registration of a person as a voter is presumptive evidence 20
of his or her right to vote. A challenge to the person's right to 21
vote must be based on personal knowledge of one of the following:22
(a) The challenged voter has been convicted of ((a felony that 23
includes serving a sentence of total confinement under jurisdiction 24
of the department of corrections, or a felony conviction in another 25
state's court or federal court and the voter is serving that sentence 26
of total confinement )) an infamous crime and the person's voting 27
rights have not been restored under RCW 29A.08.520;28
(b) The challenged voter has been judicially declared ineligible 29
to vote due to mental incompetency under RCW 29A.08.515;30
(c) The challenged voter resides at a different address than the 31
residential address provided, and is not subject to RCW 29A.04.151 or 32
29A.08.112, in which case the challenger must either:33
(i) Provide the challenged voter's actual residence on the 34
challenge form; or 35
(ii) Submit evidence that he or she exercised due diligence to 36
verify that the challenged voter does not reside at the address 37
p. 3 HB 1196
provided. The challenger must, at minimum, provide evidence that the 1
challenger personally: 2
(A) Sent a letter with return service requested to the challenged 3
voter's residential address provided, and to the challenged voter's 4
mailing address, if provided; 5
(B) Searched local telephone directories, including online 6
directories, to determine whether the voter maintains a telephone 7
listing at any address in the county; 8
(C) Searched county auditor property records to determine whether 9
the challenged voter owns any property in the county;10
(D) Searched the statewide voter registration database to 11
determine if the voter is registered at any other address in the 12
state; and 13
(E) Searched the voter registration database of another state to 14
determine if the voter is registered to vote in any other state;15
(d) The challenged voter will not be eighteen years of age by the 16
next general election; or 17
(e) The challenged voter is not a citizen of the United States.18
(2) A person's right to vote may be challenged by another 19
registered voter or the county prosecuting attorney.20
(3) The challenger must file a signed affidavit subject to the 21
penalties of perjury swearing that, to his or her personal knowledge 22
and belief, having exercised due diligence to personally verify the 23
evidence presented, the challenged voter either is not qualified to 24
vote or does not reside at the address given on his or her voter 25
registration record based on one of the reasons allowed in subsection 26
(1) of this section. The challenger must provide the factual basis 27
for the challenge, including any information required by subsection 28
(1)(c) of this section, in the signed affidavit. The challenge may 29
not be based on unsupported allegations or allegations by anonymous 30
third parties. All documents pertaining to the challenge are public 31
records. 32
(4) Challenges based on a ((felony)) conviction for an infamous 33
crime under section 2 of this act and RCW 29A.08.520 must be heard 34
according to RCW 29A.08.520 and rules adopted by the secretary of 35
state. 36
Sec. 6. RCW 29A.40.091 and 2024 c 269 s 7 are each amended to 37
read as follows: 38
p. 4 HB 1196
(1) The county auditor shall send each voter a ballot, a security 1
envelope in which to conceal the ballot after voting, a larger 2
envelope in which to return the security envelope, a declaration that 3
the voter must sign, and instructions on how to obtain information 4
about the election, how to mark the ballot, and how to return the 5
ballot to the county auditor. The calendar date of the election must 6
be prominently displayed in bold type, twenty-point font or larger, 7
on the envelope sent to the voter containing the ballot and other 8
materials listed in this subsection. 9
(2) The voter must swear under penalty of perjury that he or she 10
meets the qualifications to vote, and has not voted in any other 11
jurisdiction at this election. The declaration must clearly inform 12
the voter that it is illegal to vote if he or she is not a United 13
States citizen; it is illegal to vote if he or she is serving a 14
sentence of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the 15
department of corrections for a ((felony)) conviction ((or is 16
currently incarcerated for a federal or out-of-state felony 17
conviction)) in a Washington state court of an infamous crime ; it is 18
illegal to cast a ballot or sign a ballot declaration on behalf of 19
another voter; and that the signature on the declaration will be 20
compared to the signature in the voter's registration file. The 21
ballot materials must provide space for the voter to sign the 22
declaration, indicate the date on which the ballot was voted, and 23
include a telephone number. 24
(3) For overseas and service voters, the signed declaration 25
constitutes the equivalent of a voter registration. Return envelopes 26
for overseas and service voters must enable the ballot to be returned 27
postage free if mailed through the United States postal service, 28
United States armed forces postal service, or the postal service of a 29
United States foreign embassy under 39 U.S.C. 3406.30
(4) The voter must be instructed to either return the ballot to 31
the county auditor no later than 8:00 p.m. the day of the election or 32
primary, or mail the ballot to the county auditor with a postmark no 33
later than the day of the election or primary. Return envelopes for 34
all election ballots must include prepaid postage. Service and 35
overseas voters must be provided with instructions and a privacy 36
sheet for returning the ballot and signed declaration by fax or 37
email. A voted ballot and signed declaration returned by fax or email 38
must be received by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the election or primary.39
p. 5 HB 1196
(5) The county auditor's name may not appear on the security 1
envelope, the return envelope, or on any voting instructions or 2
materials included with the ballot if he or she is a candidate for 3
office during the same year. 4
(6) For purposes of this section, "prepaid postage" means any 5
method of return postage paid by the county or state.6
Sec. 7. RCW 29A.68.020 and 2016 c 130 s 3 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
Any of the following causes may be asserted by a registered voter 9
to challenge the right to assume office of a candidate declared 10
elected to that office, to challenge the right of a candidate to 11
appear on the general election ballot after a primary, or to 12
challenge certification of the result of an election on any measure:13
(1) For misconduct on the part of any election officer involved 14
therein; 15
(2) Because the person whose right is being contested was not, at 16
the time the person was declared elected, eligible to that office;17
(3) Because the person whose right is being contested was, 18
previous to the election, convicted ((of a felony by a court of 19
competent jurisdiction )) in a Washington state court of an infamous 20
crime, the conviction not having been reversed nor the person's civil 21
rights restored after the conviction; 22
(4) Because the person whose right is being contested gave a 23
bribe or reward to a voter or to an election officer for the purpose 24
of procuring the election, or offered to do so; 25
(5) On account of illegal votes. 26
(a) Illegal votes include but are not limited to the following:27
(i) More than one vote cast by a single voter;28
(ii) A vote cast by a person disqualified under Article VI, 29
section 3 of the state Constitution. 30
(b) Illegal votes do not include votes cast by improperly 31
registered voters who were not properly challenged under RCW 32
29A.08.810 and 29A.08.820. 33
All election contests must proceed under RCW 29A.68.011 or 34
29A.68.013. 35
Sec. 8. RCW 10.64.140 and 2021 c 10 s 5 are each amended to read 36
as follows: 37
p. 6 HB 1196
(1) When a person is convicted ((of a felony and sentenced to a 1
term of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the department of 2
corrections)) in a Washington state court of an infamous crime , the 3
court shall require the defendant to sign a statement acknowledging 4
that: 5
(a) The defendant's right to vote has been lost due to the 6
((felony)) conviction of an infamous crime and sentence to a term of 7
total confinement; 8
(b) If the defendant is registered to vote, the voter 9
registration will be canceled; 10
(c) The right to vote is automatically restored as long as the 11
defendant is not serving a sentence of total confinement under the 12
jurisdiction of the department of corrections; 13
(d) The defendant must reregister before voting; and14
(e) Voting before the right is restored is a class C felony under 15
RCW 29A.84.660. 16
(2) For the purposes of this section: 17
(a) A sentence of total confinement does not include confinement 18
imposed as a sanction for a community custody violation under RCW 19
9.94A.633(1). 20
(b) "Infamous crime" has the same meaning as in RCW 29A.04.079.21
(c) "Total confinement" has the same meaning as in RCW 9.94A.030.22
Sec. 9. RCW 72.09.275 and 2021 c 10 s 7 are each amended to read 23
as follows: 24
(1) The department shall notify a person, in writing, of the 25
process for restoration of voting rights, as described in RCW 26
29A.08.520, prior to the release from, or transfer to partial 27
confinement from, total confinement under the jurisdiction of the 28
department of corrections ((unless a person is being released from a 29
department of corrections facility to an out-of-state jurisdiction or 30
federal detention center, pursuant to a felony conviction )). The 31
department shall also provide the person with: 32
(a) A voter registration form and written instructions for 33
returning the form by mail; and 34
(b) Written information regarding registering to vote in person 35
and electronically. 36
(2) For purposes of this section: 37
p. 7 HB 1196
(a) A sentence of total confinement does not include confinement 1
imposed as a sanction for a community custody violation under RCW 2
9.94A.633(1). 3
(b) "Total confinement" has the same meaning as in RCW 9.94A.030.4
Sec. 10. RCW 2.36.070 and 1988 c 188 s 7 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
A person shall be competent to serve as a juror in the state of 7
Washington unless that person: 8
(1) Is less than eighteen years of age; 9
(2) Is not a citizen of the United States; 10
(3) Is not a resident of the county in which he or she has been 11
summoned to serve; 12
(4) Is not able to communicate in the English language; or13
(5) Has been convicted of a felony and is sentenced to a term of 14
total confinement under the jurisdiction of the department of 15
corrections and has not had his or her civil rights restored.16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. If any provision of this act or its 17
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 18
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 19
persons or circumstances is not affected.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. This act may be known and cited as the 21
free the vote act.22
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p. 8 HB 1196