Local elections

AN ACT Relating to increasing representation and voter 1
participation in local elections; amending RCW 29A.60.221, 2
29A.52.112, 29A.52.220, 29A.24.010, 36.32.040, 36.32.050, 35A.12.040, 3
28A.343.320, 29A.04.410, 29A.12.080, and 29A.36.121; reenacting and 4
amending RCW 29A.36.170; adding a new section to chapter 29A.52 RCW; 5
adding a new section to chapter 29A.04 RCW; adding a new section to 6
chapter 52.14 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 53.12 RCW; 7
creating new sections; repealing RCW 29A.04.127; and providing an 8
expiration date. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that jurisdictions 11
throughout the state have been discussing adopting ranked choice 12
voting to elect their officials, with some jurisdictions exploring 13
the concept through resolutions and proposed charter amendments, 14
plaintiffs in Yakima county requesting it as a remedy under the 15
Washington voting rights act in July 2020, and Seattle voters having 16
already chosen it in November 2022. Without legislative guidance, 17
however, local governments and courts considering ranked choice 18
voting must independently develop their own unique methodology to 19
implement it.20
H-0399.1
HOUSE BILL 1448
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Gregerson, Farivar, Parshley, Doglio, Obras, Mena,
Fosse, Scott, Salahuddin, Bernbaum, Pollet, Ramel, Nance, Walen,
Reeves, Hill, Paul, Berry, Duerr, Fitzgibbon, Callan, Reed, Goodman,
Peterson, Ortiz-Self, Macri, Ormsby, and Simmons
Read first time 01/21/25. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 1448
The legislature wishes to ensure that state law provides 1
consistent and clear rules governing the use of ranked choice voting 2
in Washington. The legislature therefore intends for this act to 3
provide baseline definitions and legal requirements for ranked choice 4
voting elections throughout the state. 5
The legislature further intends to create a work group to aid the 6
secretary of state in developing effective rules and implementation 7
materials for local governments that enact ranked choice voting 8
through popular vote, by action of their governing body, or as a 9
remedy under the Washington voting rights act. The work group will 10
also develop high quality voter education standards and support 11
materials to aid in the implementation of ranked choice voting 12
throughout the state. 13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 29A.52 14
RCW to read as follows: 15
(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this 16
section, a county, city, town, school district, fire district, or 17
port district may conduct its elections using ranked choice voting. A 18
county, city, town, school district, fire district, or port district 19
that adopts ranked choice voting may, but need not, use ranked choice 20
voting for all offices in an election. 21
(2) A city, town, school district, fire district, or port 22
district that has voters in more than one county may conduct an 23
election using ranked choice voting only if: 24
(a) Another city, town, or district that lies entirely within at 25
least two of the counties in which the city, town, or district has 26
voters uses ranked choice voting; or 27
(b) A court orders the use of ranked choice voting as provided in 28
this section as a remedy under RCW 29A.92.110. 29
(3) Ranked choice voting may not be used in an election for an 30
office for which two or fewer candidates are competing.31
(4) An election using ranked choice voting must meet the 32
following requirements: 33
(a) The county auditor shall design the ballot to allow a voter 34
to rank the candidates for a particular office in order of 35
preference, including one write-in candidate; 36
(b) The county auditor must allow a voter to rank at least five 37
candidates per office. The secretary of state may adopt rules that 38
determine the maximum number of candidates per office that a voter is 39
p. 2 HB 1448
allowed to rank on a ballot in order to accommodate technical 1
limitations from voting systems and ensure compatibility with all 2
ballot formats; 3
(c) A voter does not need to rank the maximum number of 4
candidates. The county auditor shall count a ballot regardless of how 5
many candidates the voter has ranked. The county auditor shall not 6
count votes for rankings made by a voter that are greater than the 7
maximum number of rankings allowed for each office;8
(d) If a voter skips one or more numbers in ranking candidates, 9
or ranks an invalid write-in candidate, the county auditor shall 10
count any votes after the skipped number for the voter's next-highest 11
ranked candidates as if the voter had not skipped the number;12
(e) If a voter provides the same number ranking to more than one 13
candidate, the county auditor may not count that vote ranking for any 14
candidate and may not count a vote for any subsequent number ranking 15
for that office; 16
(f) The election must be one of two types of ranked choice voting 17
elections. If the election is a single-winner contest, including an 18
election in which multiple positions with the same name, district 19
number, or title are dealt with as separate offices, the winner of 20
each contest must be determined using the instant runoff voting 21
method, as defined in this section and further provided in secretary 22
of state rules. If the election is a multiwinner contest in which the 23
positions are not dealt with as separate offices, the winners must be 24
determined using the single transferable vote method, as defined in 25
this section and further provided in secretary of state rules;26
(g) If the requisite number of officers have not been elected, or 27
selected to continue to further rounds of vote tabulation, by reason 28
of two or more persons having an equal and highest number of votes 29
for the same office, the official empowered by state law to issue the 30
original certificate of election shall resolve the tie as provided in 31
RCW 29A.60.221. 32
(5) A county, city, town, or district that conducts a general 33
election for a single-winner contest using ranked choice voting must 34
hold a primary to winnow candidates for the election to a final list 35
of five candidates. The primary is not conducted using ranked choice 36
voting. Voters in the primary may vote for one candidate, and the top 37
five candidates will be certified as qualified to appear on the 38
general election ballot. A county, city, town, or district that 39
p. 3 HB 1448
conducts a general election for a multiwinner contest using ranked 1
choice voting may not hold a primary. 2
(6) A county, city, town, or district that adopts ranked choice 3
voting must consult with its county auditor to determine the date 4
when ranked choice voting will be implemented, which must be within 5
two years following its adoption, unless a specific implementation 6
date is provided in a court order directing a jurisdiction to use 7
ranked choice voting as a remedy under RCW 29A.92.110.8
(7) The county auditor whose county encompasses a county, city, 9
town, or district that adopts ranked choice voting is responsible for 10
the implementation of the system. If a city, town, or district has 11
voters in two or more counties, each county auditor in which the 12
city, town, or district has voters is responsible for its 13
implementation. 14
(8) The secretary of state, before May 1, 2026, and in 15
consultation with the ranked choice voting work group created in 16
section 15 of this act, shall adopt rules to administer this section. 17
The secretary's rules must address, at minimum: 18
(a) Procedures for administering an election that includes voters 19
in more than one county as provided in subsection (2) of this 20
section; and 21
(b) Procedures for tabulating votes under the instant runoff 22
voting method and single transferable vote method as provided in 23
subsection (4) of this section. 24
(9) The secretary of state shall develop educational materials 25
for the public and provide training for county auditors to implement 26
ranked choice voting in accordance with the work group 27
recommendations described in section 15 of this act.28
(10) As used in this section: 29
(a) "Ranked choice voting" means a method of counting votes in 30
which votes are tabulated based on a voter's ranking of candidates in 31
order of preference as provided in this section. 32
(b) "Instant runoff voting method" means a method of counting 33
votes in which ballots are counted in rounds and the candidate 34
receiving the fewest number of votes is eliminated, continuing until 35
one candidate receives a majority of all votes counted in that round 36
and is declared the winner. 37
(c) "Single transferable vote method" means a method of counting 38
votes in which: 39
p. 4 HB 1448
(i) A winning threshold is calculated based on the number of 1
votes cast and the number of seats to be filled, plus one;2
(ii) Ballots are counted in rounds, and at the end of each round 3
any candidate who receives enough votes to pass the winning threshold 4
is declared elected. Any votes received by that candidate in excess 5
of the threshold to win are transferred to other candidates. After 6
all such votes have been transferred so that no candidate has votes 7
exceeding the winning threshold, the candidate with the least number 8
of votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to other 9
candidates in the next round; and 10
(iii) The counting process stops when the number of elected 11
candidates equals the number of seats to be filled, or the number of 12
candidates remaining equals the number of seats not yet filled by an 13
elected candidate. 14
(11) This section does not apply to any jurisdiction that, on the 15
effective date of this section, uses ranked choice voting for one or 16
more offices. 17
Sec. 3. RCW 29A.60.221 and 2004 c 271 s 176 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
(1) If the requisite number of any federal, state, county, city, 20
or district offices have not been nominated in a primary by reason of 21
two or more persons having an equal and requisite number of votes for 22
being placed on the general election ballot, the official empowered 23
by state law to certify candidates for the general election ballot 24
shall give notice to the several persons so having the equal and 25
requisite number of votes to attend at the appropriate office at the 26
time designated by that official, who shall then and there proceed 27
publicly to decide by lot which of those persons will be declared 28
nominated and placed on the general election ballot.29
(2) If the requisite number of any federal, state, county, city, 30
district, or precinct officers have not been elected by reason of two 31
or more persons having an equal and highest number of votes for one 32
and the same office, the official empowered by state law to issue the 33
original certificate of election shall give notice to the several 34
persons so having the highest and equal number of votes to attend at 35
the appropriate office at the time to be appointed by that official, 36
who shall then and there proceed publicly to decide by lot which of 37
those persons will be declared duly elected, and the official shall 38
p. 5 HB 1448
make out and deliver to the person thus duly declared elected a 1
certificate of election. 2
(3) For a tie occurring at any point in the counting process of 3
an election conducted using ranked choice voting as provided in 4
section 2 of this act, the official empowered by state law to certify 5
candidates for the general election ballot shall resolve the tie 6
using the lot method described in this section. If the tie occurs 7
before the final round of counting, the tie must be resolved as 8
expeditiously as possible.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 29A.04 10
RCW to read as follows: 11
"Primary" or "primary election" means a procedure for winnowing 12
candidates for public office to a final list of two as part of a 13
special or general election, or to a final list of five in a county, 14
city, town, or district election that uses ranked choice voting as 15
provided in section 2 of this act. Each voter has the right to cast a 16
vote for any candidate for each office without any limitation based 17
on party preference or affiliation, of either the voter or the 18
candidate. 19
Sec. 5. RCW 29A.36.170 and 2013 c 143 s 1 and 2013 c 11 s 45 are 20
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 21
For any office for which a primary was held, only the names of 22
the top two candidates will appear on the general election ballot , 23
unless the election will be conducted using ranked choice voting as 24
provided in section 2 of this act, in which case only the names of 25
the top five candidates will appear on the general election ballot ; 26
the name of the candidate who received the greatest number of votes 27
will appear first and the candidate who received the next greatest 28
number of votes will appear second. No candidate's name may be 29
printed on the subsequent general election ballot unless he or she 30
receives at least one percent of the total votes cast for that office 31
at the preceding primary, if a primary was conducted. On the ballot 32
at the general election for an office for which no primary was held, 33
the names of the candidates shall be listed in the order determined 34
pursuant to RCW 29A.36.131. 35
Sec. 6. RCW 29A.52.112 and 2014 c 7 s 1 are each amended to read 36
as follows: 37
p. 6 HB 1448
(1) A primary is a first stage in the public process by which 1
voters elect candidates to public office. 2
(2) Whenever candidates for a partisan office are to be elected, 3
the general election must be preceded by a primary conducted under 4
this chapter , unless the general election is a multiwinner contest 5
using ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of this act.6
(3) Based upon votes cast at the primary, the top two candidates , 7
or the top five candidates in a primary for a single-winner general 8
election conducted using ranked choice voting as provided in section 9
2 of this act, will be certified as qualified to appear on the 10
general election ballot ((, unless only one candidate qualifies as 11
provided in RCW 29A.36.170)). 12
(((3))) (4) No primary may be held for any single county partisan 13
office to fill an unexpired term if, after the last day allowed for 14
candidates to withdraw, only one candidate has filed for the 15
position. 16
(((4))) (5) For partisan office, if a candidate has expressed a 17
party preference on the declaration of candidacy, then that 18
preference will be shown after the name of the candidate on the 19
primary and general election ballots as set forth in rules of the 20
secretary of state. A candidate may choose to express no party 21
preference. Any party preferences are shown for the information of 22
voters only and may in no way limit the options available to voters.23
Sec. 7. RCW 29A.52.220 and 2013 c 195 s 1 are each amended to 24
read as follows: 25
(1) No primary may be held for any single position in any 26
nonpartisan office if, after the last day allowed for candidates to 27
withdraw, there are no more than two candidates filed for the 28
position. The county auditor shall as soon as possible notify all the 29
candidates so affected that the office for which they filed will not 30
appear on the primary ballot. 31
(2) No primary may be held for an office in a county, city, town, 32
or district that is conducting a multiwinner general election using 33
ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of this act.34
(3) No primary may be held for the office of commissioner of a 35
park and recreation district or for the office of cemetery district 36
commissioner. 37
p. 7 HB 1448
(((3))) (4) Names of candidates for offices that do not appear on 1
the primary ballot shall be printed upon the general election ballot 2
in the manner specified by RCW 29A.36.131. 3
Sec. 8. RCW 29A.24.010 and 2003 c 111 s 601 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) Not less than thirty days before the first day for filing 6
declarations of candidacy under RCW 29A.24.050 for legislative, 7
judicial, county, city, town, or district office, where more than one 8
position with the same name, district number, or title will be voted 9
upon at the succeeding election, the filing officer shall designate 10
the positions to be filled by number , except as provided in 11
subsection (3) of this section. 12
(2) The positions so designated shall be dealt with as separate 13
offices for all election purposes. With the exception of the office 14
of justice of the supreme court, the position numbers shall be 15
assigned, whenever possible, to reflect the position numbers that 16
were used to designate the same positions at the last full-term 17
election for those offices. 18
(3) In an election conducted using ranked choice voting as 19
provided in section 2 of this act in which there is more than one 20
position with the same name, district number, or title, the county, 21
city, town, or district shall choose whether the filing officer will 22
designate the positions to be filled by number and deal with 23
positions as separate offices.24
Sec. 9. RCW 36.32.040 and 2018 c 113 s 205 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
(1) Except as provided in subsection s (2) and (3) of this 27
section, the qualified electors of each county commissioner district, 28
and they only, shall nominate from among their own number, candidates 29
for the office of county commissioner of such commissioner district 30
to be voted for at the following general election. Such candidates 31
shall be nominated in the same manner as candidates for other county 32
and district offices are nominated in all other respects.33
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, w here 34
the commissioners of a county composed entirely of islands with a 35
population of less than thirty-five thousand have chosen to divide 36
the county into unequal-sized commissioner districts pursuant to the 37
exception provided in RCW 36.32.020, the qualified electors of the 38
p. 8 HB 1448
entire county shall nominate from among their own number who reside 1
within a commissioner district, candidates for the office of county 2
commissioner of such commissioner district to be voted for at the 3
following general election. Such candidates shall be nominated in the 4
same manner as candidates for other county offices are nominated in 5
all other respects. 6
(3) A county may conduct an election for county commissioners 7
using ranked choice voting as defined in section 2 of this act.8
(4) The commissioners of any county may authorize a change to 9
their electoral system pursuant to RCW 29A.92.040.10
Sec. 10. RCW 36.32.050 and 2018 c 301 s 7 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
(1) Except as provided otherwise in subsection (2) of this 13
section or this chapter, county commissioners shall be elected by the 14
qualified voters of the county and the person receiving the highest 15
number of votes for the office of commissioner for the district in 16
which he or she resides shall be declared duly elected from that 17
district. 18
(2) Beginning in 2022, in any noncharter county with a population 19
of four hundred thousand or more, county commissioners must be 20
nominated and elected by the qualified electors of the commissioner 21
district in which he or she resides. The person receiving the highest 22
number of votes at a general election for the office of commissioner 23
for the district in which he or she resides must be declared duly 24
elected from that district. 25
(3) A county may conduct an election for county commissioners 26
using ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of this act.27
(a) A county that deals with commissioner positions as separate 28
offices and adopts ranked choice voting using the instant runoff 29
voting method as provided in section 2 of this act shall hold a 30
primary to winnow the list of candidates in the district to five.31
(b) A county that chooses not to deal with commissioner positions 32
as separate offices and instead adopts ranked choice voting in a 33
multiwinner contest using the single transferable vote method as 34
provided in section 2 of this act may not hold a primary for those 35
positions.36
Sec. 11. RCW 35A.12.040 and 2015 c 53 s 52 are each amended to 37
read as follows: 38
p. 9 HB 1448
(1) Officers shall be elected at biennial municipal elections to 1
be conducted as provided in chapter 35A.29 RCW. The mayor and the 2
councilmembers shall be elected for four-year terms of office and 3
until their successors are elected and qualified and assume office in 4
accordance with RCW 29A.60.280. At any first election upon 5
reorganization, councilmembers shall be elected as provided in RCW 6
35A.02.050. Thereafter the requisite number of councilmembers shall 7
be elected biennially as the terms of their predecessors expire and 8
shall serve for terms of four years. ((The)) Except as provided in 9
subsection (2) of this section, the positions to be filled on the 10
city council shall be designated by consecutive numbers and shall be 11
dealt with as separate offices for all election purposes. Election to 12
positions on the council shall be by majority vote from the city at 13
large, unless provision is made by charter or ordinance for election 14
by wards. The mayor and councilmembers shall qualify by taking an 15
oath or affirmation of office and as may be provided by law, charter, 16
or ordinance. 17
(2) If a city or town uses ranked choice voting as provided in 18
section 2 of this act, the city or town shall choose whether the 19
council positions to be filled will be designated by number and dealt 20
with as separate offices.21
Sec. 12. RCW 28A.343.320 and 2015 c 53 s 11 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
(1) Candidates for the position of school director shall file 24
their declarations of candidacy as provided in Title 29A RCW.25
((The)) (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, 26
the positions of school directors in each district shall be dealt 27
with as separate offices for all election purposes, and where more 28
than one position is to be filled, each candidate shall file for one 29
of the positions so designated: PROVIDED, That in school districts 30
containing director districts, or a combination of director districts 31
and director at large positions, candidates shall file for such 32
director districts or at large positions. Position numbers shall be 33
assigned to correspond to director district numbers to the extent 34
possible. 35
(3) If the school board uses ranked choice voting as provided in 36
section 2 of this act, the school board shall choose whether to deal 37
with the positions of school directors as separate offices for 38
elections purposes.39
p. 10 HB 1448
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. A new section is added to chapter 52.14 1
RCW to read as follows: 2
A board of fire commissioners may conduct an election for fire 3
commissioner using ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of 4
this act. 5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 53.12 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
A port commission may conduct an election for port commissioner 8
using ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of this act.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) A ranked choice voting work group is 10
created.11
(2) The work group shall consist of: 12
(a) A member from the association of Washington cities, chosen by 13
the association; 14
(b) A member from the Washington state association of county 15
auditors, chosen by the association; and 16
(c) A member from an organization with expertise in ranked choice 17
voting. The governor shall solicit applications and choose the 18
organization for the work group. The organization shall choose its 19
member for the work group. 20
(3) The work group shall advise and aid the secretary of state in 21
drafting rules to implement this act, as provided in section 2 of 22
this act. 23
(4) The work group shall advise and aid the secretary of state in 24
developing implementation and support materials for local governments 25
that choose to enact ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of 26
this act. These materials must be informed by known best practices 27
for ranked choice voting, such as best practices for ballot design, 28
voter education, and election results reporting. Examples of support 29
materials that may be developed by the work group include: Sample 30
ballots; formats and timelines for reporting election results; and 31
poll worker trainings. When developing such materials, the work group 32
may consult similar materials developed by other jurisdictions that 33
have previously implemented ranked choice voting. 34
(5) The work group shall also develop voter education materials 35
for local governments that choose to enact ranked choice voting as 36
provided in section 2 of this act. Examples of support materials that 37
may be developed by the work group include: Voter education 38
p. 11 HB 1448
materials, such as flyers, brochures, video explainers, and graphics; 1
candidate trainings; media trainings; and poll worker trainings. 2
These materials must be developed by May 1, 2026. 3
(6) In carrying out its duties under subsection (5) of this 4
section, the work group must consult with and provide meaningful 5
opportunity for input from academics and other scholars of elections, 6
the association of Washington cities, the Washington state 7
association of counties, voting rights and election reform 8
organizations, organizations representing traditionally 9
underrepresented communities in Washington, tribes, and community 10
stakeholders. 11
(7) The work group must provide a report to the appropriate 12
committees of the legislature by June 1, 2026, detailing its 13
activities and recommendations. 14
(8) This section expires December 1, 2026. 15
Sec. 16. RCW 29A.04.410 and 2020 c 337 s 1 are each amended to 16
read as follows: 17
(1) Every county, city, town, and district, and the state is 18
liable for its proportionate share of the costs when such elections 19
are held in conjunction with other elections held under RCW 20
29A.04.321 and 29A.04.330, except as provided in subsection (2) of 21
this section.22
(2) The costs of implementing a ranked choice voting election, as 23
provided in section 2 of this act, borne by a county must be 24
apportioned under this section to the jurisdiction using ranked 25
choice voting. Implementation costs that must be apportioned under 26
this subsection include the costs associated with:27
(a) Obtaining, upgrading, or developing any tabulation system 28
components necessary for ranked choice voting, including hardware and 29
software;30
(b) The use or maintenance of any tabulation system components 31
necessary for ranked choice voting;32
(c) Hiring, training, and maintaining employees or other 33
personnel needed to conduct ranked choice voting elections; and34
(d) Voter education and outreach associated with ranked choice 35
voting. 36
(3) Whenever any county, city, town, or district, or the state 37
holds any primary or election, general or special, on an isolated 38
p. 12 HB 1448
date, all costs of such elections must be borne by the county, city, 1
town, or district concerned, or the state as appropriate.2
(4) The purpose of this section is to clearly establish that the 3
county is not responsible for any costs involved in the holding of 4
any city, town, district, state, or federal election.5
(5) In recovering such election expenses, including a reasonable 6
proration of administrative costs, the county auditor shall certify 7
the cost to the county treasurer with a copy to the clerk or auditor 8
of the city, town, or district concerned, or the secretary of state 9
as appropriate. Upon receipt of such certification relating to a 10
city, town, or district, the county treasurer shall make the transfer 11
from any available and appropriate city, town, or district funds to 12
the county current expense fund or to the county election reserve 13
fund if such a fund is established. Each city, town, or district must 14
be promptly notified by the county treasurer whenever such transfer 15
has been completed. However, in those districts wherein a treasurer, 16
other than the county treasurer, has been appointed such transfer 17
procedure does not apply, but the district shall promptly issue its 18
warrant for payment of election costs. State and federal offices are 19
to be considered one entity for purposes of election cost proration 20
and reimbursement. 21
Sec. 17. RCW 29A.12.080 and 2013 c 11 s 22 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
No voting system or voting device shall be approved by the 24
secretary of state unless it: 25
(1) Secures to the voter secrecy in the act of voting;26
(2) Permits the voter to vote for any person for any office and 27
upon any measure that he or she has the right to vote for;28
(3) Correctly registers all votes cast for any and all persons 29
and for or against any and all measures; 30
(4) Provides that a vote for more than one candidate cannot be 31
cast by one single operation of the voting device or vote tally 32
system except when voting for president and vice president of the 33
United States or in an election using ranked choice voting; and34
(5) ((Except for functions or capabilities unique to this state, 35
has)) Has been tested and certified by an independent testing 36
authority designated by the United States election assistance 37
commission, except:38
(a) For functions or capabilities unique to this state; or39
p. 13 HB 1448
(b) For stand-alone components of voting systems that have been 1
tested by an independent testing authority designated by the United 2
States election assistance commission but that cannot be officially 3
"certified" because the authority can certify only complete voting 4
systems. 5
Sec. 18. RCW 29A.36.121 and 2013 c 11 s 42 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) The positions or offices on a primary consolidated ballot 8
shall be arranged in substantially the following order: United States 9
senator; United States representative; governor; lieutenant governor; 10
secretary of state; state treasurer; state auditor; attorney general; 11
commissioner of public lands; superintendent of public instruction; 12
insurance commissioner; state senator; state representative; county 13
officers; justices of the supreme court; judges of the court of 14
appeals; judges of the superior court; and judges of the district 15
court. ((For)) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, 16
for all other jurisdictions on the primary ballot, the offices in 17
each jurisdiction shall be grouped together and be in the order of 18
the position numbers assigned to those offices, if any.19
(2) The order of the positions or offices on a general election 20
ballot shall be substantially the same as on a primary ballot except 21
that state ballot issues must be placed before all offices. The 22
offices of president and vice president of the United States shall 23
precede all other offices on a presidential election ballot. The 24
positions on a ballot to be assigned to ballot measures regarding 25
local units of government shall be established by the secretary of 26
state by rule. 27
(3) All offices that are elected using ranked choice voting as 28
provided in section 2 of this act must be grouped together, appearing 29
consecutively and in an order consistent with subsections (1) and (2) 30
of this section. The county auditor may, in the auditor's discretion, 31
place the grouping of offices elected using ranked choice voting at 32
any place on the ballot, except that the grouping of offices may not 33
be placed before any office that is required to come before it under 34
subsections (1) and (2) of this section.35
p. 14 HB 1448
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. RCW 29A.04.127 (Primary) and 2005 c 2 s 5 1
& 2003 c 111 s 122 are each repealed.2
--- END ---
p. 15 HB 1448