In-person voting

AN ACT Relating to ending vote by mail for nonabsentee voters and 1
restoring in-person voting at polling places and voting centers; 2
amending RCW 29A.04.008, 29A.04.019, 29A.04.031, 29A.04.223, 3
29A.04.611, 29A.08.140, 29A.08.410, 29A.08.620, 29A.08.810, 4
29A.12.085, 29A.12.120, 29A.12.160, 29A.32.241, 29A.36.220, 5
29A.40.010, 29A.40.020, 29A.40.050, 29A.40.070, 29A.40.091, 6
29A.40.100, 29A.40.110, 29A.40.130, 29A.40.160, 29A.40.170, 7
29A.40.180, 29A.60.050, 29A.60.110, 29A.60.120, 29A.60.165, 8
29A.60.170, 29A.60.190, 29A.60.235, 29A.84.510, 29A.84.520, 9
29A.84.540, 29A.84.545, and 29A.84.550; reenacting and amending RCW 10
29A.40.110; adding a new section to chapter 29A.04 RCW; adding new 11
sections to chapter 29A.16 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 29A.40 12
RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 29A RCW; creating a new section; 13
repealing 2011 c 10 s 85 (uncodified); prescribing penalties; 14
providing an effective date; and providing an expiration date.15
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that while voting by 17
mail in Washington has increased turnout in elections, this increase 18
in turnout has come at the expense of ballot security. No longer do 19
voters have the privacy of a voting booth or the security of a 20
polling place, but instead they are subject to potential 21
H-0520.5
HOUSE BILL 1584
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Marshall, Dye, Eslick, Couture, Connors, Klicker,
Volz, Corry, Keaton, Waters, Graham, Schmick, McEntire, Walsh, and
Barnard
Read first time 01/24/25. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 1584
intimidation, electioneering, and fraud while filling out and casting 1
a ballot. 2
The legislature further finds that trust in the electoral system 3
across the United States has declined due to credible allegations of 4
voter fraud, ballot tampering, and foreign interference in elections. 5
As a result, it is important to institute an electoral process that 6
not only secures the vote from fraud, tampering, and interference, 7
but also restores trust that the outcomes are legitimate and that the 8
election was free and fair. 9
Accordingly, the legislature intends to ensure ballot security 10
and restore trust in electoral outcomes by reimplementing in-person 11
voting in Washington, while continuing to provide ballot access to 12
those who most need it by allowing for limited absentee voting.13
Sec. 2. RCW 29A.04.008 and 2013 c 11 s 1 are each amended to 14
read as follows: 15
As used in this title: 16
(1) "Ballot" means, as the context implies, either:17
(a) The issues and offices to be voted upon in a jurisdiction or 18
portion of a jurisdiction at a particular primary, general election, 19
or special election; 20
(b) A facsimile of the contents of a particular ballot whether 21
printed on a paper ballot or ballot card or as part of a voting 22
machine or voting device in a polling place; 23
(c) A physical or electronic record of the choices of an 24
individual voter in a particular primary, general election, or 25
special election; or 26
(d) The physical document on which the voter's choices are to be 27
recorded; 28
(2) "Paper ballot" means a piece of paper on which the ballot for 29
a particular election or primary has been printed, on which a voter 30
may record his or her choices for any candidate or for or against any 31
measure, and that is to be tabulated manually; 32
(3) "Ballot card" means any type of card or piece of paper of any 33
size on which a voter may record his or her choices for any candidate 34
and for or against any measure and that is to be tabulated on a vote 35
tallying system; 36
(4) "Sample ballot" means a printed facsimile of all the issues 37
and offices on the ballot in a jurisdiction and is intended to give 38
voters notice of the issues, offices, and candidates that are to be 39
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voted on at a particular primary, general election, or special 1
election; 2
(5) "Provisional ballot" means a ballot issued to a voter who 3
would otherwise be denied an opportunity to vote a regular ballot, 4
for any reason authorized by the Help America Vote Act, including but 5
not limited to the following: 6
(a) The voter's name does not appear in the list of registered 7
voters for the county; 8
(b) There is an indication in the voter registration system that 9
the voter has requested an absentee ballot or has already voted in 10
that primary, special election, or general election, but the voter 11
wishes to vote again; 12
(c) There is a question on the part of the voter concerning the 13
issues or candidates on which the voter is qualified to vote;14
(d) Any other reason allowed by law. 15
Sec. 3. RCW 29A.04.019 and 2011 c 10 s 3 are each amended to 16
read as follows: 17
"Counting center" means the facility or facilities designated by 18
the county auditor to count and canvass absentee ballots and polling 19
place and voting center ballots that are transferred to a central 20
site to be counted, rather than being counted by a poll-site ballot 21
counting device. 22
Sec. 4. RCW 29A.04.031 and 2011 c 10 s 4 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
For registered voters voting an absentee ballot by mail, "date of 25
mailing" means the date of the postal cancellation on the envelope in 26
which the ballot is returned to the election official by whom it was 27
issued. For all service and overseas voters voting an absentee 28
ballot, "date of mailing" means the date stated by the voter on the 29
declaration. 30
Sec. 5. RCW 29A.04.223 and 2011 c 10 s 44 are each amended to 31
read as follows: 32
(1) ((The legislature finds that the elimination of polling 33
places resulting from the transition to vote by mail creates barriers 34
that restrict the ability of many voters with disabilities from 35
achieving the independence and privacy in voting provided by the 36
accessible voting devices required under the help America vote act. 37
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Counties must take appropriate steps to mitigate these impacts and to 1
address the obligation to provide voters with disabilities an equal 2
opportunity to vote independently and privately, to the extent that 3
this can be achieved without incurring undue administrative and 4
financial burden. 5
(2))) Each county shall establish and maintain an advisory 6
committee that includes persons with diverse disabilities and persons 7
with expertise in providing accommodations for persons with 8
disabilities. The committee shall assist election officials in 9
developing a plan to identify and implement changes to improve the 10
accessibility of elections for voters with disabilities. The plan 11
shall include recommendations for the following: 12
(a) The number of voting centers or polling places that will be 13
maintained in order to ensure that people with disabilities have 14
reasonable access to accessible voting devices, and a written 15
explanation for how the determination was made; 16
(b) The locations of polling places, absentee ballot drop-off 17
facilities, voting centers, and other election-related functions 18
necessary to maximize accessibility to persons with disabilities;19
(c) Outreach to voters with disabilities on the availability of 20
disability accommodation, including in-person disability access 21
voting; 22
(d) Transportation of voting devices to locations convenient for 23
voters with disabilities in order to ensure reasonable access for 24
voters with disabilities; and 25
(e) Implementation of the provisions of the help America vote act 26
related to persons with disabilities. 27
Counties must update the plan at least annually. The election 28
review staff of the secretary of state shall review and evaluate the 29
plan in conformance with the review procedure identified in RCW 30
29A.04.570. 31
(((3))) (2) Counties may form a joint advisory committee to 32
develop the plan identified in subsection (((2))) (1) of this section 33
if no more than one of the participating counties has a population 34
greater than seventy thousand. 35
Sec. 6. RCW 29A.04.611 and 2023 c 466 s 32 are each amended to 36
read as follows: 37
The secretary of state as chief election officer shall make 38
reasonable rules in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW not 39
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inconsistent with the federal and state election laws to effectuate 1
any provision of this title and to facilitate the execution of its 2
provisions in an orderly, timely, and uniform manner relating to any 3
federal, state, county, city, town, and district elections. To that 4
end the secretary shall assist local election officers by devising 5
uniform forms and procedures. 6
In addition to the rule-making authority granted otherwise by 7
this section, the secretary of state shall make rules governing the 8
following provisions: 9
(1) The maintenance of voter registration records;10
(2) The preparation, maintenance, distribution, review, and 11
filing of precinct maps; 12
(3) Standards for the design, layout, and production of ballots;13
(4) The examination and testing of voting systems for 14
certification; 15
(5) The source and scope of independent evaluations of voting 16
systems that may be relied upon in certifying voting systems for use 17
in this state; 18
(6) Standards and procedures for the acceptance testing of voting 19
systems by counties; 20
(7) Standards and procedures for testing the programming of vote 21
tallying software for specific primaries and elections;22
(8) Standards and procedures for the preparation and use of each 23
type of certified voting system including procedures for the 24
operation of counting centers where vote tallying systems are used;25
(9) Standards and procedures to ensure the accurate tabulation 26
and canvassing of ballots; 27
(10) Consistency among the counties of the state in the 28
preparation of ballots, the operation of vote tallying systems, and 29
the canvassing of primaries and elections; 30
(11) Procedures to ensure the secrecy of a voter's ballot when a 31
small number of ballots are counted; 32
(12) The use of substitute devices or means of voting when a 33
voting device is found to be defective, the counting of votes cast on 34
the defective device, the counting of votes cast on the substitute 35
device, and the documentation that must be submitted to the county 36
auditor regarding such circumstances; 37
(13) Procedures for the transportation of sealed containers of 38
voted ballots or sealed voting devices; 39
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(14) The acceptance and filing of documents via electronic 1
transmission; 2
(15) Voter registration applications and records;3
(16) The use of voter registration information in the conduct of 4
elections; 5
(17) The coordination, delivery, and processing of voter 6
registration records accepted by driver licensing agents or the 7
department of licensing; 8
(18) The coordination, delivery, and processing of voter 9
registration records accepted by agencies designated by the governor 10
to provide voter registration services; 11
(19) Procedures to receive and distribute voter registration 12
applications by mail; 13
(20) Procedures for a voter to change his or her voter 14
registration address within a county by telephone;15
(21) Procedures for a voter to change the name under which he or 16
she is registered to vote; 17
(22) Procedures for canceling dual voter registration records and 18
for maintaining records of persons whose voter registrations have 19
been canceled; 20
(23) Procedures for the electronic transfer of voter registration 21
records between county auditors and the office of the secretary of 22
state; 23
(24) Procedures and forms related to automatic voter 24
registration; 25
(25) Procedures and forms for declarations of candidacy;26
(26) Procedures and requirements for the acceptance and filing of 27
declarations of candidacy by electronic means; 28
(27) Procedures for the circumstance in which two or more 29
candidates have a name similar in sound or spelling so as to cause 30
confusion for the voter; 31
(28) Filing for office; 32
(29) The order of positions and offices on a ballot;33
(30) Sample ballots; 34
(31) Independent evaluations of voting systems and the testing, 35
approval, and certification of voting systems; 36
(32) The testing of vote tallying software programming;37
(33) Standards and procedures to prevent fraud and to facilitate 38
the accurate processing and canvassing of ballots, including 39
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standards for the approval and implementation of hardware and 1
software for automated signature verification systems;2
(34) Standards and procedures to guarantee the secrecy of 3
ballots; 4
(35) Uniformity among the counties of the state in the conduct of 5
elections; 6
(36) Standards and procedures to accommodate overseas voters and 7
service voters; 8
(37) The tabulation of paper ballots; 9
(38) The accessibility of voting centers and polling places;10
(39) The aggregation of precinct results if reporting the results 11
of a single precinct could jeopardize the secrecy of a person's 12
ballot; 13
(40) Procedures for conducting a statutory recount;14
(41) Procedures for filling vacancies in congressional offices if 15
the general statutory time requirements for availability of ballots, 16
certification, canvassing, and related procedures cannot be met;17
(42) Procedures for the statistical sampling of signatures for 18
purposes of verifying and canvassing signatures on initiative, 19
referendum, and recall election petitions; 20
(43) Standards and deadlines for submitting material to the 21
office of the secretary of state for the voters' pamphlet;22
(44) Deadlines for the filing of ballot titles for referendum 23
bills and constitutional amendments if none have been provided by the 24
legislature; 25
(45) Procedures for the publication of a state voters' pamphlet;26
(46) Procedures for conducting special elections regarding 27
nuclear waste sites if the general statutory time requirements for 28
availability of ballots, certification, canvassing, and related 29
procedures cannot be met; 30
(47) Procedures for conducting partisan primary elections;31
(48) Standards and procedures for the proper conduct of voting on 32
accessible voting devices; 33
(49) Standards for voting technology and systems used by the 34
state or any political subdivision to be accessible for individuals 35
with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind 36
and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity 37
for access and participation, including privacy and independence, as 38
other voters; 39
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(50) All data formats for transferring voter registration data on 1
electronic or machine-readable media for the purpose of administering 2
the statewide voter registration list required by the Help America 3
Vote Act (P.L. 107-252); 4
(51) Defining the interaction of electronic voter registration 5
election management systems employed by each county auditor to 6
maintain a local copy of each county's portion of the official state 7
list of registered voters; 8
(52) Provisions and procedures to implement the state-based 9
administrative complaint procedure as required by the Help America 10
Vote Act (P.L. 107-252); 11
(53) Facilitating the payment of local government grants to local 12
government election officers or vendors; and 13
(54) Standards for the verification of signatures on ballot 14
declarations. 15
Sec. 7. RCW 29A.08.140 and 2022 c 69 s 2 are each amended to 16
read as follows: 17
(1) In order to vote in any primary, special election, or general 18
election, a person who is not registered to vote in Washington must:19
(a) Submit a registration application that is received by an 20
election official no later than eight days before the day of the 21
primary, special election, or general election. For purposes of this 22
subsection (1)(a), "received" means: (i) Being physically received by 23
an election official by the close of business of the required 24
deadline; or (ii) for applications received online or electronically, 25
by midnight, of the required deadline; or 26
(b) Register in person at a county auditor's office, the division 27
of elections if in a separate location from the county auditor's 28
office, a polling place, a voting center, a student engagement hub, 29
or other location designated by the county auditor no later than 8:00 30
p.m. on the day of the primary, special election if the county is 31
conducting an election, or general election. 32
(2)(a) In order to change a residence address for voting in any 33
primary, special election, or general election, a person who is 34
already registered to vote in Washington may update his or her 35
registration by: 36
(i) Submitting an address change using a registration application 37
or making notification via any non-in-person method that is received 38
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by election officials no later than eight days before the day of the 1
primary, special election, or general election; or 2
(ii) Appearing in person, at a county auditor's office, the 3
division of elections if in a separate location from the county 4
auditor's office, a polling place, a voting center, or other location 5
designated by the county auditor, no later than 8:00 p.m. on the day 6
of the primary, special election if the county is conducting an 7
election, or general election to be in effect for that primary, 8
special election if the county is conducting an election, or general 9
election. 10
(b) A registered voter who fails to update his or her residential 11
address by this deadline may vote according to his or her previous 12
registration address. 13
(3) To register or update a voting address in person at a county 14
auditor's office, a polling place, a voting center, or other location 15
designated by the county auditor, a person must appear in person at a 16
county auditor's office, a polling place, a voting center, or other 17
location designated by the county auditor at a time when the facility 18
is open and complete the voter registration application by providing 19
the information required by RCW 29A.08.010. 20
Sec. 8. RCW 29A.08.410 and 2024 c 56 s 1 are each amended to 21
read as follows: 22
A registered voter who changes residence from one address to 23
another may transfer the voter's registration to the new address in 24
one of the following ways: 25
(1) Sending the county auditor a request stating both the voter's 26
present address and the address from which the voter was last 27
registered received by an election official by the eighth day prior 28
to a primary or election; 29
(2) Appearing in person before a county auditor, or at a polling 30
place, voting center , or other location designated by the county 31
auditor, and making such a request up until 8:00 p.m. on the day of 32
the primary or election; 33
(3) Telephoning or emailing the county auditor to update the 34
voter's registration address by the eighth day prior to a primary or 35
election; 36
(4) Submitting a voter registration application received by an 37
election official by the eighth day prior to a primary or election;38
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(5) Submitting information to the department of licensing and 1
received by an election official by the eighth day prior to a primary 2
or election; 3
(6) Submitting voter registration information through the health 4
benefit exchange and received by an election official by the eighth 5
day prior to a primary or election; or 6
(7) Submitting information to an agency designated under RCW 7
29A.08.365 and received by an election official by the eighth day 8
prior to a primary or election once automatic voter registration is 9
implemented at the agency. 10
Sec. 9. RCW 29A.08.620 and 2024 c 56 s 2 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
(1) Each county auditor must request change of address 13
information from the postal service for all ((mail)) absentee 14
ballots. Each registered voter must be mailed an election-related 15
document, with change of address information requested, at least once 16
every two years and at least 90 days prior to the date of a primary 17
or general election for federal office.18
(2)(a) If change of address information received by the county 19
auditor from the postal service, the department of licensing, or 20
another agency designated to provide voter registration services 21
indicates that the voter has moved within the county, the county 22
auditor shall update the registration address for the voter's 23
registration and send an acknowledgment notice to the new address 24
informing the voter of the update. 25
(b) If the change of address information indicates the voter has 26
moved out of the county but within the state: 27
(i) The county auditor shall notify the auditor of the voter's 28
new county of residence of the change; and 29
(ii) The county auditor of the voter's new county of residence 30
shall update the registration information of the voter to the new 31
address within the county and send an acknowledgment notice to the 32
new address informing the voter of the update. 33
(c) If the information indicates the voter has moved to a 34
residence outside the state, the county auditor shall place the 35
voter's registration on inactive status and send to all known 36
addresses a confirmation notice. Such information may include any of 37
the following: 38
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(i) Any document mailed by the county auditor to a voter is 1
returned by the postal service as undeliverable without address 2
correction information; or 3
(ii) Change of address information received from the postal 4
service, the department of licensing, or another state agency 5
designated to provide voter registration services indicates that the 6
voter has moved out of the state. 7
Sec. 10. RCW 29A.08.810 and 2023 c 466 s 28 are each amended to 8
read as follows: 9
(1) Registration of a person as a voter is presumptive evidence 10
of his or her right to vote. A challenge to the person's right to 11
vote must be based on personal knowledge of one of the following:12
(a) The challenged voter has been convicted of a felony that 13
includes serving a sentence of total confinement under jurisdiction 14
of the department of corrections, or a felony conviction in another 15
state's court or federal court and the voter is serving that sentence 16
of total confinement and the person's voting rights have not been 17
restored under RCW 29A.08.520; 18
(b) The challenged voter has been judicially declared ineligible 19
to vote due to mental incompetency under RCW 29A.08.515;20
(c) The challenged voter resides at a different address than the 21
residential address provided, and is not subject to RCW 29A.04.151 or 22
29A.08.112, in which case the challenger must either:23
(i) Provide the challenged voter's actual residence on the 24
challenge form; or 25
(ii) Submit evidence that he or she exercised due diligence to 26
verify that the challenged voter does not reside at the address 27
provided. The challenger must, at minimum, provide evidence that the 28
challenger personally: 29
(A) Sent a letter with return service requested to the challenged 30
voter's residential address provided, and to the challenged voter's 31
mailing address, if provided; 32
(B) Searched local telephone directories, including online 33
directories, to determine whether the voter maintains a telephone 34
listing at any address in the county; 35
(C) Searched county auditor property records to determine whether 36
the challenged voter owns any property in the county;37
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(D) Searched the statewide voter registration database to 1
determine if the voter is registered at any other address in the 2
state; and 3
(E) Searched the voter registration database of another state to 4
determine if the voter is registered to vote in any other state;5
(d) The challenged voter will not be eighteen years of age by the 6
next general election; or 7
(e) The challenged voter is not a citizen of the United States.8
(2) A person's right to vote may be challenged by another 9
registered voter or the county prosecuting attorney , or by the poll-10
site judge or inspector if the challenge is filed on election day 11
regarding a voter who presents himself or herself to vote at the poll 12
site. 13
(3) The challenger must file a signed affidavit subject to the 14
penalties of perjury swearing that, to his or her personal knowledge 15
and belief, having exercised due diligence to personally verify the 16
evidence presented, the challenged voter either is not qualified to 17
vote or does not reside at the address given on his or her voter 18
registration record based on one of the reasons allowed in subsection 19
(1) of this section. The challenger must provide the factual basis 20
for the challenge, including any information required by subsection 21
(1)(c) of this section, in the signed affidavit. The challenge may 22
not be based on unsupported allegations or allegations by anonymous 23
third parties. All documents pertaining to the challenge are public 24
records. 25
(4) Challenges based on a felony conviction under RCW 29A.08.520 26
must be heard according to RCW 29A.08.520 and rules adopted by the 27
secretary of state. 28
Sec. 11. RCW 29A.12.085 and 2011 c 10 s 22 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
Beginning on January 1, 2006, all direct recording electronic 31
voting devices must produce a paper record of each vote that may be 32
accepted or rejected by the voter before finalizing his or her vote. 33
This record may not be removed from the voting center or polling 34
place, and must be human readable without an interface and machine 35
readable for counting purposes. If the device is programmed to 36
display the ballot in multiple languages, the paper record produced 37
must be printed in the language used by the voter. Rejected records 38
must either be destroyed or marked in order to clearly identify the 39
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record as rejected. Paper records produced by direct recording 1
electronic voting devices are subject to all the requirements of 2
chapter 29A.60 RCW for ballot handling, preservation, reconciliation, 3
transit, and storage. The paper records must be preserved in the same 4
manner and for the same period of time as ballots. 5
Sec. 12. RCW 29A.12.120 and 2013 c 11 s 23 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) Before each state primary or general election at which voting 8
systems are to be used, the county auditor shall instruct all 9
counting center and polling place personnel who will operate a voting 10
system in the proper conduct of their voting system duties.11
(2) The county auditor may waive instructional requirements for 12
counting center and polling place personnel who have previously 13
received instruction and who have served for a sufficient length of 14
time to be fully qualified to perform their duties. The county 15
auditor shall keep a record of each person who has received 16
instruction and is qualified to serve at the subsequent primary or 17
election. 18
(3) No person may operate a voting system in a counting center or 19
polling place at a primary or election unless that person has 20
received the required instruction and is qualified to perform his or 21
her duties in connection with the handling and tallying of ballots 22
for that primary or election. 23
Sec. 13. RCW 29A.12.160 and 2011 c 10 s 25 are each amended to 24
read as follows: 25
(1) At each voting center and polling place , at least one voting 26
unit certified by the secretary of state shall provide access to 27
individuals who are blind or visually impaired. 28
(2) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 29
apply: 30
(a) "Accessible" includes receiving, using, selecting, and 31
manipulating voter data and controls. 32
(b) "Nonvisual" includes synthesized speech, Braille, and other 33
output methods. 34
(c) "Blind and visually impaired" excludes persons who are both 35
deaf and blind. 36
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Sec. 14. RCW 29A.32.241 and 2024 c 78 s 9 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) The local voters' pamphlet shall include but not be limited 3
to the following: 4
(a) Appearing on the cover, the words "official local voters' 5
pamphlet," the name of the jurisdiction producing the pamphlet, and 6
the date of the election or primary; 7
(b) A list of jurisdictions that have measures or candidates in 8
the pamphlet; 9
(c) Information on how a person may register to vote and obtain 10
((a)) an absentee ballot; 11
(d) Candidate statements and photographs; 12
(e) The text of each measure accompanied by an explanatory 13
statement prepared by the prosecuting attorney for any county measure 14
or by the attorney for the jurisdiction submitting the measure if 15
other than a county measure. All explanatory statements for city, 16
town, or district measures not approved by the attorney for the 17
jurisdiction submitting the measure shall be reviewed and approved by 18
the county prosecuting attorney or city attorney, when applicable, 19
before inclusion in the pamphlet; 20
(f) The arguments for and against each measure submitted by 21
committees selected pursuant to RCW 29A.32.280; and22
(g) A list of all student engagement hubs in the county as 23
designated under RCW 29A.40.180. 24
(2) The county auditor's name may not appear in the local voters' 25
pamphlet in an official capacity if the county auditor is a candidate 26
for office during the same year. The auditor's name may only be 27
included as part of the information normally included for candidates.28
Sec. 15. RCW 29A.36.220 and 2011 c 10 s 34 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
The cost of printing regular ballots, security sheets, and 31
instructions, as well as the cost of printing and mailing absentee 32
ballots, envelopes, and instructions shall be an election cost that 33
shall be borne as determined under RCW 29A.04.410 and 29A.04.420, as 34
appropriate. 35
Sec. 16. RCW 29A.40.010 and 2013 c 11 s 47 are each amended to 36
read as follows: 37
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((Each active registered voter of the state, overseas voter, and 1
service voter shall automatically be issued a mail ballot for each 2
general election, special election, or primary. Overseas voters and 3
service voters are authorized to cast the same ballots, including 4
those for special elections, as a registered voter of the state would 5
receive under this chapter. Each active registered voter shall 6
continue to receive a ballot by mail until the death or 7
disqualification of the voter, cancellation of the voter's 8
registration, or placing the voter on inactive status. )) (1) An 9
active registered voter and overseas voters and service voters are 10
eligible to submit an absentee ballot request to the voter's county 11
auditor if the voter:12
(a) Is or will be at least 65 years old on the date of the 13
elections;14
(b) Has a disability or illness that prevents the voter from 15
voting in person;16
(c) Is military personnel or a dependent of military personnel;17
(d) Is a student who temporarily resides outside the county;18
(e) Temporarily resides outside the state but maintains 19
eligibility to vote in the state;20
(f) Is incarcerated but has not had their voting rights revoked, 21
or has had their voting rights automatically restored under RCW 22
29A.08.520;23
(g) Is employed outside of the county during all hours the 24
polling place is open; or25
(h) Participates in the address confidentiality program under 26
chapter 40.24 RCW.27
(2) The county auditor must approve a request for an absentee 28
ballot if the voter meets any of the criteria in subsection (1) of 29
this section. The auditor may not approve requests for an absentee 30
ballot in any other circumstances.31
Sec. 17. RCW 29A.40.020 and 2011 c 10 s 36 are each amended to 32
read as follows: 33
(1) A voter's absentee ballot request must be sent to the voter's 34
county auditor no earlier than 90 days nor later than the day before 35
the election or primary at which the person seeks to vote. Except as 36
otherwise provided by law, the request may be made orally in person, 37
by telephone, electronically, or in writing. An application or 38
request for an absentee ballot made under the authority of a federal 39
p. 15 HB 1584
statute or regulation will be considered and given the same effect as 1
a request for an absentee ballot under this chapter.2
(2) A voter requesting an absentee ballot for a primary may also 3
request an absentee ballot for the following general election. A 4
request by an overseas voter or service voter for an absentee ballot 5
for a primary election will also be considered as a request for an 6
absentee ballot for the following general election.7
(3) In requesting an absentee ballot, the voter must state the 8
address to which the absentee ballot should be sent. A request for 9
((a)) an absentee ballot from an overseas voter or service voter must 10
include the address of the last residence in the state of Washington.11
(((2))) (4) No person, organization, or association may 12
distribute any absentee ballot materials that contain a return 13
address other than that of the appropriate county auditor.14
Sec. 18. RCW 29A.40.050 and 2011 c 10 s 37 are each amended to 15
read as follows: 16
(1) County auditors shall provide special absentee ballots to be 17
used for state primary or state general elections. An auditor shall 18
provide a special absentee ballot only to a registered voter who 19
completes an application stating that she or he will be unable to 20
vote and return a regular absentee ballot by normal mail delivery 21
within the period provided for regular absentee ballots.22
A special absentee ballot may not be requested more than ninety 23
days before the applicable state primary or general election. The 24
special absentee ballot will list the offices and measures, if known, 25
scheduled to appear on the state primary or general election ballot. 26
The voter may use the special absentee ballot to write in the name of 27
any eligible candidate for each office and vote on any measure.28
(2) The county auditor shall include a listing of any candidates 29
who have filed before the time of the application for offices that 30
will appear on the ballot at that primary or election and a list of 31
any issues that have been referred to the ballot before the time of 32
the application. 33
(3) Write-in votes on special absentee ballots must be counted in 34
the same manner provided by law for the counting of other write-in 35
votes. The county auditor shall process and canvass the special 36
absentee ballots provided under this section in the same manner as 37
other ballots under this chapter and chapter 29A.60 RCW.38
p. 16 HB 1584
(4) A voter who requests a special absentee ballot under this 1
section may also request a regular absentee ballot. If the regular 2
absentee ballot is properly voted and returned, the special absentee 3
ballot is void, and the county auditor shall reject it in whole when 4
special absentee ballots are canvassed. 5
Sec. 19. RCW 29A.40.070 and 2013 c 11 s 48 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) Except where a recount or litigation is pending, the county 8
auditor must mail absentee ballots to each voter for whom an absentee 9
ballot request has been approved at least eighteen days before each 10
primary or election, and as soon as possible for all subsequent 11
absentee ballot requests and registration changes.12
(2) Except where a recount or litigation is pending, the county 13
auditor must mail absentee ballots to each service and overseas voter 14
for whom an absentee ballot request has been approved at least thirty 15
days before each special election, and at least forty -five days 16
before each primary or general election, or any special election that 17
involves federal office. A request for ((a)) an absentee ballot made 18
by an overseas or service voter after that day must be processed 19
immediately. 20
(3) A registered voter may obtain a replacement absentee ballot 21
if the ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received by the 22
voter. The voter may obtain the replacement absentee ballot by 23
telephone request, by mail, electronically, or in person. The county 24
auditor shall keep a record of each request for a replacement 25
absentee ballot. 26
(4) ((Each)) Within 24 hours of mailing the absentee ballots, the 27
county auditor shall certify to the office of the secretary of state 28
the dates the ballots were mailed ((, or )). If the absentee ballots 29
are not mailed within timelines specified under subsections (1) and 30
(2) of this section, the auditor must notify the secretary within 24 31
hours of the reason for the delay and the date the ballots will be 32
mailed ((if the ballots were not mailed timely )). If the county 33
auditor has not provided such information to the secretary by the 34
Monday 15 days before the election, the secretary must contact the 35
county auditor to inquire about the reason for the delay and the date 36
that the auditor expects the absentee ballots will be sent.37
(5) Failure to mail absentee ballots as prescribed in this 38
section does not by itself provide a basis for an election contest or 39
p. 17 HB 1584
other legal challenge to the results of a primary, general election, 1
or special election. 2
Sec. 20. RCW 29A.40.091 and 2024 c 269 s 7 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
(1) The county auditor shall send each voter whose absentee 5
ballot request has been approved a ballot, a security envelope in 6
which to conceal the ballot after voting, a larger envelope in which 7
to return the security envelope, a declaration that the voter must 8
sign, and instructions on how to obtain information about the 9
election, how to mark the ballot, and how to return the ballot to the 10
county auditor. The calendar date of the election must be prominently 11
displayed in bold type, twenty-point font or larger, on the envelope 12
sent to the voter containing the ballot and other materials listed in 13
this subsection. 14
(2) The voter must swear under penalty of perjury that he or she 15
meets the qualifications to vote, and has not voted in any other 16
jurisdiction at this election. The declaration must clearly inform 17
the voter that it is illegal to vote if he or she is not a United 18
States citizen; it is illegal to vote if he or she is serving a 19
sentence of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the 20
department of corrections for a felony conviction or is currently 21
incarcerated for a federal or out-of-state felony conviction; it is 22
illegal to cast a ballot or sign a ballot declaration on behalf of 23
another voter; and that the signature on the declaration will be 24
compared to the signature in the voter's registration file. The 25
absentee ballot materials must provide space for the voter to sign 26
the declaration, indicate the date on which the ballot was voted, and 27
include a telephone number. 28
(3) For overseas and service voters, the signed declaration 29
constitutes the equivalent of a voter registration. Return envelopes 30
for overseas and service voters must enable the absentee ballot to be 31
returned postage free if mailed through the United States postal 32
service, United States armed forces postal service, or the postal 33
service of a United States foreign embassy under 39 U.S.C. 3406.34
(4) The voter must be instructed to either return the absentee 35
ballot to the county auditor no later than 8:00 p.m. the day of the 36
election or primary, or mail the absentee ballot to the county 37
auditor with a postmark no later than the day of the election or 38
primary. Return envelopes for all election ballots must include 39
p. 18 HB 1584
prepaid postage. Service and overseas voters must be provided with 1
instructions and a privacy sheet for returning the ballot and signed 2
declaration by fax or email. A voted ballot and signed declaration 3
returned by fax or email must be received by 8:00 p.m. on the day of 4
the election or primary. 5
(5) The county auditor's name may not appear on the security 6
envelope, the return envelope, or on any voting instructions or 7
materials included with the absentee ballot if he or she is a 8
candidate for office during the same year. 9
(6) For purposes of this section, "prepaid postage" means any 10
method of return postage paid by the county or state.11
Sec. 21. RCW 29A.40.100 and 2024 c 28 s 3 are each amended to 12
read as follows: 13
County auditors must request that observers be appointed by the 14
major political parties to be present during the processing of 15
ballots at ((the)) polling places and counting center s. County 16
auditors have discretion to also request that observers be appointed 17
by any campaigns or organizations. The absence of the observers will 18
not prevent the processing of ballots if the county auditor has 19
requested their presence. Observers may not touch any ballots, ballot 20
materials, or election systems. Unauthorized physical contact, or 21
access to ballots or election systems (([,])) , is a crime subject to 22
punishment under chapter 29A.84 RCW. 23
Sec. 22. RCW 29A.40.110 and 2024 c 269 s 8 and 2024 c 138 s 2 24
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:25
(1) The opening and subsequent processing of return envelopes for 26
any primary or election may begin upon receipt. The tabulation of 27
absentee ballots must not commence until after 8:00 p.m. on the day 28
of the primary or election. 29
(2) All received return envelopes must be placed in secure 30
locations from the time of delivery to the county auditor until their 31
subsequent opening. After opening the return envelopes, the county 32
canvassing board shall place all of the absentee ballots in secure 33
storage until processing. Ballots may be taken from the inner 34
envelopes and all the normal procedural steps may be performed to 35
prepare these ballots for tabulation. 36
(3) The canvassing board, or its designated representatives, 37
shall examine the postmark on the return envelope and signature on 38
p. 19 HB 1584
the declaration before processing the absentee ballot. The ballot 1
must either be received no later than 8:00 p.m. on the day of the 2
primary or election, or must be postmarked no later than the day of 3
the primary or election. All personnel assigned to verify signatures 4
must receive training on statewide standards for signature 5
verification. The county auditor shall publish on its website the 6
names of all canvassing board members who received training on 7
statewide standards for signature verification and the dates on which 8
the training was completed. Personnel shall verify that the voter's 9
signature on the ballot declaration is the same as the signature of 10
that voter in the registration files of the county. Verification may 11
be conducted by an automated verification system approved by the 12
secretary of state. A variation between the signature of the voter on 13
the ballot declaration and the signature of that voter in the 14
registration files due to the substitution of initials or the use of 15
common nicknames is permitted so long as the surname and handwriting 16
are clearly the same. A county that is participating in the 17
alternative verification options pilot project under RCW 29A.40.111 18
may also verify a voter's ballot using an alternative verification 19
method approved by the office of the secretary of state.20
(4) If the postmark is ((missing or)) illegible, the date on the 21
absentee ballot declaration to which the voter has attested 22
determines the validity, as to the time of voting, for that ballot.23
(5) If the postmark is missing on a ballot that is received by 24
the county auditor after election day, the ballot may be counted only 25
if the voter signs a declaration attesting, under penalty of perjury, 26
that the ballot was mailed on or before election day. The county 27
auditor must notify every such voter by first-class mail. If the 28
voter has not responded at least three business days before the final 29
meeting of the canvassing board, then the auditor must attempt to 30
notify the voter by telephone, using the voter registration record 31
information.32
(6) For overseas voters and service voters, the date on the 33
declaration to which the voter has attested determines the validity, 34
as to the time of voting, for that ballot. Any overseas voter or 35
service voter may return the signed declaration and voted ballot by 36
fax or email by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election, and 37
the county auditor must use established procedures to maintain the 38
secrecy of the ballot. 39
p. 20 HB 1584
Sec. 23. RCW 29A.40.110 and 2024 c 269 s 8 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) The opening and subsequent processing of return envelopes for 3
any primary or election may begin upon receipt. The tabulation of 4
absentee ballots must not commence until after 8:00 p.m. on the day 5
of the primary or election. 6
(2) All received return envelopes must be placed in secure 7
locations from the time of delivery to the county auditor until their 8
subsequent opening. After opening the return envelopes, the county 9
canvassing board shall place all of the absentee ballots in secure 10
storage until processing. Ballots may be taken from the inner 11
envelopes and all the normal procedural steps may be performed to 12
prepare these ballots for tabulation. 13
(3) The canvassing board, or its designated representatives, 14
shall examine the postmark on the return envelope and signature on 15
the declaration before processing the absentee ballot. The ballot 16
must either be received no later than 8:00 p.m. on the day of the 17
primary or election, or must be postmarked no later than the day of 18
the primary or election. All personnel assigned to verify signatures 19
must receive training on statewide standards for signature 20
verification. The county auditor shall publish on its website the 21
names of all canvassing board members who received training on 22
statewide standards for signature verification and the dates on which 23
the training was completed. Personnel shall verify that the voter's 24
signature on the ballot declaration is the same as the signature of 25
that voter in the registration files of the county. Verification may 26
be conducted by an automated verification system approved by the 27
secretary of state. A variation between the signature of the voter on 28
the ballot declaration and the signature of that voter in the 29
registration files due to the substitution of initials or the use of 30
common nicknames is permitted so long as the surname and handwriting 31
are clearly the same. 32
(4) If the postmark is ((missing or)) illegible, the date on the 33
absentee ballot declaration to which the voter has attested 34
determines the validity, as to the time of voting, for that ballot.35
(5) If the postmark is missing on a ballot that is received by 36
the county auditor after election day, the ballot may be counted only 37
if the voter signs a declaration attesting, under penalty of perjury, 38
that the ballot was mailed on or before election day. The county 39
auditor must notify every such voter by first-class mail. If the 40
p. 21 HB 1584
voter has not responded at least three business days before the final 1
meeting of the canvassing board, then the auditor must attempt to 2
notify the voter by telephone, using the voter registration record 3
information. 4
(6) For overseas voters and service voters, the date on the 5
declaration to which the voter has attested determines the validity, 6
as to the time of voting, for that ballot. Any overseas voter or 7
service voter may return the signed declaration and voted ballot by 8
fax or email by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election, and 9
the county auditor must use established procedures to maintain the 10
secrecy of the ballot. 11
Sec. 24. RCW 29A.40.130 and 2011 c 10 s 42 are each amended to 12
read as follows: 13
Each county auditor shall maintain in his or her office, open for 14
public inspection, a record of all voters who have voted in person 15
and all voters who have been issued ((a)) an absentee ballot and all 16
voters who returned ((a)) an absentee ballot. For each primary, 17
special election, or general election, any political party, 18
committee, or person may request a list of all registered voters who 19
have or have not voted. Such requests shall be handled as public 20
records requests pursuant to chapter 42.56 RCW. 21
Sec. 25. RCW 29A.40.160 and 2024 c 28 s 4 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
(1) Each county auditor ((shall)) may open a voting center each 24
primary, special election if the county is conducting an election, 25
and general election. The voting center shall be open during business 26
hours during the voting period ((, which )). The voting period for 27
voters voting an absentee ballot begins eighteen days before ((,)) and 28
ends at 8:00 p.m. on the day of ((,)) the primary, special election if 29
the county is conducting an election, or general election. For 30
service and overseas voters voting an absentee ballot, the voting 31
period begins 30 days before each special election and 45 days before 32
each primary and general election and ends at 8:00 p.m. the day of 33
the primary. The voting period for all other voters begins five days 34
before and ends at 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary, special 35
election if applicable, or general election. The voting center may 36
serve as a location, in addition to polling places, where voters can 37
cast a ballot in person.38
p. 22 HB 1584
(2) Each county auditor shall open a voting center at each of the 1
following locations in the county: 2
(a) At the county auditor's office or at the division of 3
elections that is in a separate location from the county auditor's 4
office; and 5
(b) For each presidential general election, in each city in the 6
county with a population of one hundred thousand or greater which 7
does not have a voting center as required in (a) of this subsection. 8
A voting center opened pursuant to this subsection (2) is not 9
required to be open on the Sunday before the presidential election.10
(3) Voting centers shall be located in public buildings or 11
buildings that are leased by a public entity including, but not 12
limited to, libraries. 13
(4) Each voting center, and at least one of the other locations 14
designated by the county auditor to allow voters to register in 15
person pursuant to RCW 29A.08.140(1)(b), must provide voter 16
registration materials, ballots, provisional ballots, information 17
about polling places in the county, information about requesting an 18
absentee ballot, disability access voting units, sample ballots, 19
instructions on how to properly vote the ballot, ((a)) an absentee 20
ballot drop box, and voters' pamphlets, if a voters' pamphlet has 21
been published. 22
(5) Each voting center must be accessible to persons with 23
disabilities. Each state agency and entity of local government shall 24
permit the use of any of its accessible facilities as voting centers 25
when requested by a county auditor. 26
(6) Each voting center must provide at least one voting unit 27
certified by the secretary of state that provides access to 28
individuals who are blind or visually impaired, enabling them to vote 29
with privacy and independence. 30
(7) No person may interfere with a voter attempting to vote in a 31
voting center. Interfering with a voter attempting to vote is a 32
violation of RCW 29A.84.510. The county auditor shall designate by 33
administrative rule a specific point or points as the entrance to 34
each voting center, taking into account the unique attributes of the 35
voting center, to assure that voters have the ability to arrive and 36
depart unimpeded. 37
(8) No person may interfere with the operation of a voting 38
center. Interfering with the operation of a voting center is a 39
violation of RCW 29A.84.510. This prohibition includes unauthorized 40
p. 23 HB 1584
access or handling of ballots, and unauthorized access to any voting 1
equipment or election systems. Unauthorized access includes elected 2
officials and county staff accessing systems in any manner not 3
required by their job function. 4
(9) Before opening the voting center, the voting equipment shall 5
be inspected to determine if it has been properly prepared for 6
voting. If the voting equipment is capable of direct tabulation of 7
each voter's choices, the county auditor shall verify that no votes 8
have been registered for any issue or office, and that the device has 9
been sealed with a unique numbered seal at the time of final 10
preparation and logic and accuracy testing. A log must be made of all 11
device numbers and seal numbers. 12
(10) The county auditor shall require any person desiring to vote 13
at a voting center to either sign a ballot declaration or provide 14
identification. 15
(a) The signature on the declaration must be compared to the 16
signature on the voter registration record before the ballot may be 17
counted. If the voter registered using a mark, or can no longer sign 18
the voter's name, the election officers shall require the voter to be 19
identified by another registered voter. 20
(b) The identification must be valid photo identification, such 21
as a driver's license, state identification card, student 22
identification card, tribal identification card, or employer 23
identification card. A tribal identification card is not required to 24
include a residential address or an expiration date to be considered 25
valid under this section. Any individual who desires to vote in 26
person but cannot provide identification shall be issued a 27
provisional ballot, which shall be accepted if the signature on the 28
declaration matches the signature on the voter's registration record.29
(11) Provisional ballots must be accompanied by a declaration and 30
security envelope, as required by RCW 29A.40.091, and space for the 31
voter's name, date of birth, current and former registered address, 32
reason for the provisional ballot, and disposition of the provisional 33
ballot. The voter shall vote and return the provisional ballot at the 34
voting center. The voter must be provided information on how to 35
ascertain whether the provisional ballot was counted and, if 36
applicable, the reason why the vote was not counted.37
(12) Any voter may take printed or written material into the 38
voting ((device)) booth to assist in casting votes. The voter shall 39
p. 24 HB 1584
not use this material to electioneer and shall remove it when leaving 1
the voting center. 2
(13) If any voter states that the voter is unable to cast a vote 3
due to a disability, the voter may designate a person of the voter's 4
choice, or two election officers, to enter the voting booth and 5
record the votes as the voter directs. 6
(14) No voter is entitled to vote more than once at a primary, 7
special election, or general election. If a voter incorrectly marks a 8
ballot, the voter may be issued a replacement ballot.9
(15) A voter who has already returned a ballot but requests to 10
vote at a voting center shall be issued a provisional ballot. The 11
canvassing board shall not count the provisional ballot if it finds 12
that the voter has also voted a regular ballot in that primary, 13
special election, or general election. 14
(16) Any voter who is inside or in line at the voting center at 15
8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary, special election, or general 16
election must be allowed to vote. 17
(17) For each primary, special election, and general election, 18
the county auditor may provide election services at locations in 19
addition to the voting center. The county auditor has discretion to 20
establish which services will be provided at the additional 21
locations, and which days and hours the locations will be open. 22
Voting a ballot may only take place in person at a voting center or 23
polling place.24
Sec. 26. RCW 29A.40.170 and 2019 c 6 s 5 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
(((1))) The county auditor may establish drop boxes to collect 27
absentee ballots. The county auditor must prevent overflow of each 28
ballot drop box to allow a voter to deposit his or her absentee 29
ballot securely. Ballots must be removed from a ballot drop box by at 30
least two people, with a record kept of the date and time ballots 31
were removed, and the names of people removing them. Ballots from 32
drop boxes must be returned to the counting center in secured 33
transport containers. A copy of the record must be placed in the 34
container, and one copy must be transported with the ballots to the 35
counting center, where the seal number must be verified by the county 36
auditor or a designated representative. All ballot drop boxes must be 37
secured at 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary, special election, or 38
general election. 39
p. 25 HB 1584
(((2) The county auditor must establish a minimum of one ballot 1
drop box per fifteen thousand registered voters in the county and a 2
minimum of one ballot drop box in each city, town, and census-3
designated place in the county with a post office.4
(3) At the request of a federally recognized Indian tribe with a 5
reservation in the county, the county auditor must establish at least 6
one ballot drop box on the Indian reservation on a site selected by 7
the tribe that is accessible to the county auditor by a public road.8
(4) A federally recognized Indian tribe may designate at least 9
one building as a ballot pickup and collection location at no cost to 10
the tribe. The designated building must be accessible to the county 11
auditor by a public road. The county auditor of the county in which 12
the building is located must collect ballots from that location in 13
compliance with the procedures in subsection (1) of this section.))14
Sec. 27. RCW 29A.40.180 and 2020 c 208 s 10 are each amended to 15
read as follows: 16
(1) Each state university, regional university, and The Evergreen 17
State College as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 and each higher education 18
campus as defined in RCW 28B.45.012 shall open a nonpartisan student 19
engagement hub on its campus. The student engagement hub may be open 20
during business hours beginning eight days before, and ending at 8:00 21
p.m. on the day of, the general election. ((All student engagement 22
hubs must allow students to download their exact ballot from an 23
online portal.)) Upon request of the student government organization 24
to the administration and the county auditor, the student engagement 25
hub at a state university, regional university, or The Evergreen 26
State College as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 must allow voters to 27
register in person pursuant to RCW 29A.08.140(1)(b) and provide voter 28
registration materials ((and ballots)). 29
(2) Each institution shall contract with the county auditor for 30
the operation of a student engagement hub under this section.31
(3) Student engagement hubs are not voting centers as outlined in 32
RCW 29A.40.160 or polling places and must be operated in a manner 33
that avoids partisan influence or electioneering. 34
Sec. 28. RCW 29A.60.050 and 2011 c 10 s 48 are each amended to 35
read as follows: 36
Whenever the polling place or counting center personnel have a 37
question about the validity of a ballot or the votes for an office or 38
p. 26 HB 1584
issue that they are unable to resolve, they shall prepare and sign a 1
concise record of the facts in question or dispute. These ballots 2
shall be delivered to the canvassing board for processing. A ballot 3
is not considered rejected until the canvassing board has rejected 4
the ballot individually, or the ballot was included in a batch or on 5
a report of ballots that was rejected in its entirety by the 6
canvassing board. All ballots shall be preserved in the same manner 7
as valid ballots for that primary or election. 8
Sec. 29. RCW 29A.60.110 and 2018 c 218 s 4 are each amended to 9
read as follows: 10
(1) Immediately after their tabulation, all ballots counted at a 11
ballot counting center must be sealed in containers that identify the 12
primary or election and be retained for at least sixty days or 13
according to federal law, whichever is longer. All ballots tallied by 14
poll-site ballot counting devices must be returned to the elections 15
department in sealed ballot containers on election day. Counties 16
composed entirely of islands or portions of counties composed of 17
islands shall collect the ballots within 24 hours of the close of the 18
polls. Ballots tabulated in poll-site ballot counting devices must be 19
sealed by two of the election precinct officers at the polling place, 20
and a log of the seal and the names of the people sealing the 21
container must be completed. One copy of this log must be retained by 22
the inspector, one copy must be placed in the ballot transfer case, 23
and one copy must be transported with the ballots to the elections 24
department, where the seal number must be verified by the county 25
auditor or a designated representative. Auditors using poll-site 26
ballot counting devices may conduct early pickup of counted ballots 27
on election day.28
(2) In the presence of major party observers who are available, 29
ballots may be removed from the sealed containers at the elections 30
department and consolidated into one sealed container for storage 31
purposes. The containers may only be opened by the canvassing board 32
as part of the canvass, to conduct recounts, to conduct a random 33
check under RCW 29A.60.170, to conduct an audit under RCW 29A.60.185, 34
or by order of the superior court in a contest or election dispute. 35
If the canvassing board opens a ballot container, it shall make a 36
full record of the additional tabulation or examination made of the 37
ballots. This record must be added to any other record of the 38
canvassing process in that county. 39
p. 27 HB 1584
Sec. 30. RCW 29A.60.120 and 2011 c 10 s 51 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) All voted ballots must be manually inspected for damage, 3
write-in votes, and incorrect or incomplete marks. If it is found 4
that any ballot is damaged so that it cannot properly be counted by 5
the vote tallying system, a true duplicate copy must be made of the 6
damaged ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the 7
damaged ballot. All damaged ballots must be kept by the county 8
auditor until sixty days after the primary or election or according 9
to federal law, whichever is longer. 10
(2) The returns produced by the vote tallying system, to which 11
have been added the counts of questioned ballots that have been 12
accepted, ((and)) write-in votes, and absentee ballots, constitute 13
the official returns of the primary or election in that county.14
Sec. 31. RCW 29A.60.165 and 2024 c 269 s 1 are each amended to 15
read as follows: 16
(1) If the voter neglects to sign the absentee ballot 17
declaration, the auditor shall notify the voter by first-class mail 18
and, if the auditor has a telephone number or email address on file 19
for a voter, by telephone, text message, or email, and advise the 20
voter both that their ballot is unsigned and of the correct 21
procedures for completing the unsigned declaration. If the ballot is 22
received ((within)) at least five business days ((of)) before the 23
final meeting of the canvassing board, or the voter has been notified 24
by first-class mail and has not responded at least five business days 25
before the final meeting of the canvassing board, then the auditor 26
shall attempt to notify the voter by telephone, using the voter 27
registration record information. 28
(2)(a) If the handwriting of the signature on ((a)) an absentee 29
ballot declaration is not the same as the handwriting of the 30
signature on the registration file, the auditor shall notify the 31
voter by first-class mail, and, if the auditor has a telephone number 32
or email address on file for a voter, by telephone, text message, or 33
email, enclosing a copy of the declaration if notified by first-class 34
mail or email, and advise the voter both that the signature on the 35
ballot declaration does not match the signature on file and of the 36
correct procedures for updating his or her signature on the voter 37
registration file. If the ballot is received ((within)) at least five 38
business days ((of)) before the final meeting of the canvassing 39
p. 28 HB 1584
board, or the voter has been notified by first-class mail and has not 1
responded at least five business days before the final meeting of the 2
canvassing board, then the auditor shall attempt to notify the voter 3
by telephone, text message, or email, using the voter registration 4
record information. 5
(b) If the signature on ((a)) an absentee ballot declaration is 6
not the same as the signature on the registration file because the 7
voter's name has changed, the ballot may be counted as long as the 8
handwriting is clearly the same. The auditor shall send the voter a 9
change-of-name form under RCW 29A.08.440 and direct the voter to 10
complete the form. 11
(c) If the signature on ((a)) an absentee ballot declaration is 12
not the same as the signature on the registration file because the 13
voter used initials or a common nickname, the ballot may be counted 14
as long as the surname and handwriting are clearly the same.15
(3) If the auditor calls a voter who neglected to sign the 16
absentee ballot declaration or whose signature on the absentee ballot 17
declaration does not match the signature in the registration file and 18
the voter does not answer, but voice mail is available, the auditor 19
shall leave a voice mail message. 20
(4) An auditor who provides electronic means for submission of 21
((a)) an absentee ballot declaration signature shall establish 22
appropriate privacy and security protocols that ensure that the 23
information transmitted is received directly and securely by the 24
auditor and is only used for the stated purposes of verifying the 25
signature on the voter's ballot. 26
(5) If a voter's absentee ballot is rejected in two consecutive 27
primary or general elections due to a mismatched signature, the 28
auditor must contact the voter by telephone, text message, or email, 29
if the auditor has a telephone number or email address on file for 30
the voter, and request that the voter update their signature for the 31
voter's registration file. 32
(6) A voter may not cure a missing or mismatched signature for 33
purposes of counting the absentee ballot in a recount.34
(7) A record must be kept of all absentee ballots with missing 35
and mismatched signatures. The record must contain the date on which 36
the voter was contacted or the notice was mailed, as well as the date 37
on which the voter submitted updated information. The record must be 38
updated each day that ballots are processed under RCW 29A.60.160, 39
each time a voter was contacted or the notice was mailed, and when 40
p. 29 HB 1584
the voter submitted updated information. The auditor shall send the 1
record, and any updated records, to the secretary of state no later 2
than forty-eight hours after the record is created or updated. The 3
secretary of state shall make all records publicly available no later 4
than twenty-four hours after receiving the record. 5
Sec. 32. RCW 29A.60.170 and 2018 c 218 s 3 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) At least twenty-eight days prior to any special election, 8
general election, or primary, the county auditor shall request from 9
the chair of the county central committee of each major political 10
party a list of individuals who are willing to serve as observers. 11
The county auditor has discretion to also request observers from any 12
campaign or organization. The county auditor may delete from the 13
lists names of those persons who indicate to the county auditor that 14
they cannot or do not wish to serve as observers, and names of those 15
persons who, in the judgment of the county auditor, lack the ability 16
to properly serve as observers after training has been made available 17
to them by the auditor. 18
(2) The counting center ((is)), voting center, and polling places 19
are under the direction of the county auditor and must be open to 20
observation by one representative from each major political party, if 21
representatives have been appointed by the respective major political 22
parties and these representatives are present while the counting 23
center ((is)), voting center, and polling places are operating. The 24
proceedings must be open to the public, but no persons except those 25
employed and authorized by the county auditor may touch any ballot or 26
ballot container or operate a vote tallying system.27
(3) A random check of the ballot counting equipment must be 28
conducted upon mutual agreement of the political party observers or 29
at the discretion of the county auditor. The random check procedures 30
must be adopted by the county canvassing board, and consistent with 31
rules adopted under RCW 29A.60.185(4), prior to the processing of 32
ballots. The random check process shall involve a comparison of a 33
manual count or electronic count if an audit under RCW 34
29A.60.185(1)(d) is conducted to the machine count from the original 35
ballot counting equipment and may involve up to either three 36
precincts or six batches depending on the ballot counting procedures 37
in place in the county. The random check will be limited to one 38
office or issue on the ballots in the precincts or batches that are 39
p. 30 HB 1584
selected for the check. The selection of the precincts or batches to 1
be checked must be selected according to procedures established by 2
the county canvassing board. The random check procedures must include 3
a process, consistent with RCW 29A.60.185(3) and rules adopted under 4
RCW 29A.60.185(4), for expanding the audit to include additional 5
ballots when a random check conducted under this section results in a 6
discrepancy. The procedure must specify under what circumstances a 7
discrepancy will lead to an audit of additional ballots and the 8
method to determine how many additional ballots will be selected. 9
Procedures adopted under RCW 29A.60.185 pertaining to investigations 10
of any discrepancy found during an audit must be followed. The check 11
must be completed no later than forty-eight hours after election day.12
(4)(((a) By November 1, 2018, the secretary of state shall:13
(i) For each county, survey all random check procedures adopted 14
by the county canvassing board under subsection (3) of this section; 15
and16
(ii) Evaluate the procedures to identify the best practices and 17
any discrepancies.18
(b) By December 15, 2018, the secretary of state shall submit a 19
report, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, to the appropriate 20
committees of the legislature that provides recommendations, based on 21
the evaluation performed under (a) of this subsection, for adopting 22
best practices and uniform procedures. )) In counties using poll-site 23
ballot counting devices, the political party observers, upon mutual 24
agreement, may choose as many as three precincts and request that a 25
manual count be made of the number of ballots and the votes cast on 26
any office or issue. The results of this count will be compared to 27
the count of the precinct made by the poll-site ballot counting 28
device. These selections must be made no later than 30 minutes after 29
the close of the polls. The manual count must be completed within 48 30
hours after the close of the polls. The process must take place at a 31
location designated by the county auditor for that purpose. The 32
political party observers must receive timely notice of the time and 33
location, and have the right to be present. However, the process must 34
proceed as scheduled if the observers are unable to attend.35
Sec. 33. RCW 29A.60.190 and 2019 c 7 s 5 are each amended to 36
read as follows: 37
Ten days after a special election held in February or April, ten 38
days after a presidential primary held pursuant to chapter 29A.56 39
p. 31 HB 1584
RCW, fourteen days after a primary, or twenty-one days after a 1
general election, the county canvassing board shall complete the 2
canvass and certify the results. Each ballot ((that was returned 3
before)) returned by an eligible voter who was in line at the polling 4
place or voting center by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the special 5
election, general election, primary, or presidential primary, and 6
each absentee ballot bearing a postmark on or before the date of the 7
special election, general election, primary, or presidential primary 8
and received no later than the day before certification, must be 9
included in the canvass report. 10
Sec. 34. RCW 29A.60.235 and 2018 c 218 s 9 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
(1) The county auditor shall prepare at the time of certification 13
an election reconciliation report that discloses the following 14
information: 15
(a) The number of registered voters; 16
(b) The number of absentee ballots issued; 17
(c) The number of absentee ballots received; 18
(d) The number of absentee ballots counted; 19
(e) The number of absentee ballots rejected; 20
(f) The number of provisional ballots issued; 21
(g) The number of provisional ballots received;22
(h) The number of provisional ballots counted;23
(i) The number of provisional ballots rejected;24
(j) The number of federal write-in ballots received;25
(k) The number of federal write-in ballots counted;26
(l) The number of federal write-in ballots rejected;27
(m) The number of overseas and service ballots issued by mail, 28
email, web site link, or facsimile; 29
(n) The number of overseas and service ballots received by mail, 30
email, or facsimile; 31
(o) The number of overseas and service ballots counted by mail, 32
email, or facsimile; 33
(p) The number of overseas and service ballots rejected by mail, 34
email, or facsimile; 35
(q) The number of nonoverseas and nonservice ballots sent by 36
email, web site link, or facsimile; 37
(r) The number of nonoverseas and nonservice ballots received by 38
email or facsimile; 39
p. 32 HB 1584
(s) The number of nonoverseas and nonservice ballots that were 1
rejected for: 2
(i) Failing to send an original or hard copy of the ballot by the 3
certification deadline; or 4
(ii) Any other reason, including the reason for rejection;5
(t) The number of voters credited with voting; 6
(u) The number of replacement ballots requested;7
(v) The number of replacement ballots issued; 8
(w) The number of replacement ballots received;9
(x) The number of replacement ballots counted;10
(y) The number of replacement ballots rejected; ((and))11
(z) The total number of ballots counted; and12
(aa) Any other information the auditor or secretary of state 13
deems necessary to reconcile the number of ballots counted with the 14
number of voters credited with voting, and to maintain an audit 15
trail. 16
(2) The county auditor must make the report available to the 17
public at the auditor's office and must publish the report on the 18
auditor's web site at the time of certification. The county auditor 19
must submit the report to the secretary of state at the time of 20
certification in any form determined by the secretary of state.21
(3)(a) The secretary of state must collect the reconciliation 22
reports from each county auditor and prepare a statewide 23
reconciliation report for each state primary and general election. 24
The report may be produced in a form determined by the secretary that 25
includes the information as described in this subsection (3). The 26
report must be prepared and published on the secretary of state's web 27
site within two months after the last county's election results have 28
been certified. 29
(b) The state report must include a comparison among counties on 30
rates of votes received, counted, and rejected, including absentee, 31
provisional, write-in, overseas ballots, and ballots transmitted 32
electronically. The comparison information may be in the form of 33
rankings, percentages, or other relevant quantifiable data that can 34
be used to measure performance and trends. 35
(c) The state report must also include an analysis of the data 36
that can be used to develop a better understanding of election 37
administration and policy. The analysis must combine data, as 38
available, over multiple years to provide broader comparisons and 39
trends regarding voter registration and turnout and ballot counting. 40
p. 33 HB 1584
The analysis must incorporate national election statistics to the 1
extent such information is available. 2
Sec. 35. RCW 29A.84.510 and 2022 c 69 s 3 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
(1) During the voting period ((that begins eighteen days before 5
and ends the day of a special election, general election, or 6
primary)) specified in RCW 29A.40.160, no person may:7
(a) Within a polling place, voting center, or student engagement 8
hub or in any public street or room in any public manner within 100 9
feet measured radially from the entrance to a polling center, voting 10
center, or student engagement hub or 25 feet measured radially from 11
((a)) an absentee ballot drop box as described in RCW 29A.40.170:12
(i) Suggest or persuade or attempt to suggest or persuade any 13
voter to vote for or against any candidate or ballot measure;14
(ii) Circulate cards or handbills of any kind;15
(iii) Solicit signatures to any kind of petition; or16
(iv) Engage in any practice which interferes with the freedom of 17
voters to exercise their franchise or disrupts the administration of 18
the polling place or voting center; 19
(b) Engage in any activities restricted under (a) of this 20
subsection through electronic amplification located more than 100 21
feet from an entrance to a polling place, voting center , or student 22
engagement hub or 25 feet from an entrance to ((a)) an absentee 23
ballot drop box if the person is capable of being understood within 24
100 feet of the polling place, voting center , or student engagement 25
hub or 25 feet of the absentee ballot drop box; 26
(c) Obstruct the doors or entries to a building in which a 27
polling place, voting center , or absentee ballot drop location is 28
located or prevent free access to and from any polling place, voting 29
center, or absentee ballot drop location. 30
(2) The auditor shall post a sign at the point or points 31
specified at each polling place and voting center as required by RCW 32
29A.40.160 during the voting period providing notice of the 33
prohibition in subsection (1)(a) of this section. 34
(3) Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or municipal law enforcement 35
officer shall stop the prohibited activity, and may arrest any person 36
engaging in the prohibited activity. 37
(4) Any violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor, 38
punishable to the same extent as a gross misdemeanor that is 39
p. 34 HB 1584
punishable under RCW 9A.20.021, and the person convicted may be 1
ordered to pay the costs of prosecution. 2
(5) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit or 3
otherwise restrict the access of an authorized political party 4
observer to a polling place, voting center, student engagement hub, 5
or absentee ballot drop box for the purpose of observing the election 6
process. 7
Sec. 36. RCW 29A.84.520 and 2013 c 11 s 83 are each amended to 8
read as follows: 9
Any election officer who does any electioneering at a polling 10
place, voting center , or absentee ballot drop location during the 11
voting period ((that begins eighteen days before and ends the day of 12
a special election, general election, or primary )), as specified in 13
RCW 29A.40.160, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction must 14
be fined in any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars and pay the 15
costs of prosecution. 16
Sec. 37. RCW 29A.84.540 and 2017 c 283 s 3 are each amended to 17
read as follows: 18
Any person who, without lawful authority, removes a ballot from a 19
polling place, voting center , or absentee ballot drop location is 20
guilty of a class C felony punishable to the same extent as a class C 21
felony that is punishable under RCW 9A.20.021. 22
Sec. 38. RCW 29A.84.545 and 2011 c 10 s 73 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
Anyone who, without authorization, removes from a polling place 25
or voting center a paper record produced by a direct recording 26
electronic voting device is guilty of a class C felony punishable 27
under RCW 9A.20.021. 28
Sec. 39. RCW 29A.84.550 and 2024 c 28 s 6 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
Any person who willfully defaces, removes, or destroys any of the 31
supplies or materials that the person knows are intended both for use 32
in a polling place, voting center, election office, ballot counting 33
area, ballot storage area, or election system including materials and 34
systems meant for enabling a voter to prepare the voter's ballot is 35
guilty of a class C felony punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.36
p. 35 HB 1584
NEW SECTION. Sec. 40. A new section is added to chapter 29A.04 1
RCW to read as follows: 2
"Poll-site ballot counting device" and other similar terms mean a 3
device programmed to accept voted ballots at a polling place or 4
voting center for the purpose of tallying and storing the ballots on 5
election day. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 41. The intent of this chapter is to require 7
state and local election officials to designate and use polling 8
places and disability access voting locations in all elections and 9
permanent registration locations that are accessible to elderly and 10
disabled persons. County auditors shall:11
(1) Make modifications such as installation of temporary ramps or 12
relocation of polling places within buildings, where appropriate;13
(2) Designate new, accessible polling places to replace those 14
that are inaccessible; and 15
(3) Continue to use polling places and voter registration 16
locations which are accessible to elderly and disabled persons.17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 42. The secretary of state shall establish 18
procedures to assure that, in any primary or election, any disabled 19
or elderly voter assigned to an inaccessible polling place will, upon 20
advance request of that voter, either be permitted to vote at an 21
alternative accessible polling place not overly inconvenient to that 22
voter or be provided with an alternative means of casting a ballot on 23
the day of the primary or election. The county auditor shall make any 24
reasonable accommodations in voting procedures necessary to allow the 25
use of alternative polling places by elderly or disabled voters under 26
this section.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 43. (1) County auditors shall seek 28
alternative polling places or other low-cost alternatives including, 29
but not limited to, procedural changes and assistance from local 30
disabled groups, service organizations, and other private sources 31
before incurring costs for modifications under this chapter.32
(2) The cost of those modifications to buildings or other 33
facilities, including signs designating disabled accessible parking 34
and entrances, that are necessary to permit the use of those 35
facilities for polling places under this chapter or any procedures 36
p. 36 HB 1584
established under section 42 of this act are treated as election 1
costs and prorated under RCW 29A.04.410. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 44. Polling places for the various voting 3
precincts may be located outside the boundaries of the respective 4
precincts, when the officers conducting the primary or election shall 5
deem it feasible. However, such polling places must be located within 6
a reasonable distance of their respective precincts. The purpose of 7
this section is to furnish adequate voting facilities at readily 8
accessible and identifiable locations, and nothing in this section 9
affects the number, method of selection, or duties of precinct 10
election officers.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 45. The legislative authority of each county, 12
municipality, and special district shall, at the request of the 13
county auditor, make its facilities available for use as polling 14
places for primaries, special elections, and state general elections 15
held within that county. When, in the judgment of the county auditor, 16
a facility of a county, municipality, or special district would 17
provide a location for a polling place that would best satisfy the 18
requirements of this chapter, the auditor must notify the legislative 19
authority of that county, municipality, or district of the number of 20
facilities needed for use as polling places. Payment for polling 21
places and any other conditions or obligations regarding these 22
polling places shall be provided for by contract between the county 23
auditor and the county, municipality, or district.24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 46. Each state agency and entity of local 25
government must permit the use of any of its buildings and the most 26
suitable locations therein as polling places or disability access 27
voting locations when required by a county auditor to provide 28
accessible places in each precinct.29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 47. No later than April 1st of each even-30
numbered year, each county auditor must submit to the secretary of 31
state a list showing the number of polling places in the county and 32
specifying any that have been found inaccessible. The auditor shall 33
indicate the reasons for inaccessibility, and what efforts have been 34
made pursuant to this chapter to locate alternative polling places or 35
to make the existing facilities temporarily accessible. If a county 36
p. 37 HB 1584
auditor's list shows, for two consecutive reporting periods, that no 1
polling places have been found inaccessible, the auditor need not 2
submit further reports unless the secretary of state specifically 3
reinstates the requirement for that county. Notice of reinstatement 4
must be in writing and delivered at least 60 days before the 5
reporting date. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 48. Each polling place must be accessible 7
unless:8
(1) The county auditor has determined that it is inaccessible, 9
that no alternative accessible polling place is available, that no 10
temporary modification of that polling place or any alternative 11
polling place is possible, and that the county auditor has complied 12
with the procedures established under section 42 of this act; or13
(2) The secretary of state determines that a state of emergency 14
exists that would otherwise interfere with the efficient 15
administration of the primary or election. 16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 49. County auditors shall, as feasible, 17
solicit and use the assistance of disabled voters in reviewing sites 18
and recommending inexpensive remedies to improve accessibility.19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 50. Each county auditor shall include a 20
notice of the accessibility of polling places in the notice of 21
election published under chapter 29A.52 RCW.22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 51. The delivery of an absentee ballot for 23
any primary or election is subject to the following qualifications:24
(1)(a) An absentee ballot may be picked up at the office of the 25
issuing officer by: 26
(i) The registered voter personally; or 27
(ii) A member of the registered voter's immediate family.28
(b) If the voter is a resident of a health care facility, as 29
defined by RCW 70.37.020, on election day, the voter may apply by 30
messenger for an absentee ballot and the messenger may pick up the 31
voter's absentee ballot. 32
(2) Except as noted in subsection (1) of this section, the 33
issuing officer must mail or deliver the absentee ballot directly to 34
each voter who qualifies for an absentee ballot. 35
p. 38 HB 1584
NEW SECTION. Sec. 52. The absentee ballots must be reported at 1
a minimum on a congressional and legislative district basis. Absentee 2
ballots may be counted by congressional or legislative district or by 3
individual precinct, except as required under RCW 29A.60.230. These 4
returns must be added to the total of the votes cast at the polling 5
places and voting centers.6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 53. The qualifications of any absentee voter 7
may be challenged before the voted ballot is received. The board has 8
the authority to determine the legality of any absentee ballot 9
challenged under this section. Challenged ballots must be handled in 10
accordance with chapter 29A.08 RCW.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 54. No person may interfere with a voter in 12
any way within the polling place, voting center, or absentee ballot 13
drop box. Interfering with a voter attempting to vote is a violation 14
of RCW 29A.84.510. This section does not prevent the voter from 15
receiving assistance in preparing his or her ballot as specifically 16
permitted in this chapter.17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 55. At any election, general or special, or 18
at any primary, any political party or committee may designate a 19
person other than a precinct election officer, for each polling place 20
or voting center to check a list of registered voters of the precinct 21
to determine who has and who has not voted. The lists must be 22
furnished by the party or committee concerned.23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 56. Any voter may take into the voting booth 24
or voting device any printed or written material to assist in casting 25
his or her vote. The voter may not use this material to electioneer 26
and must remove the material when he or she leaves the polls or the 27
disability access voting location.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 57. No ballots other than those prepared by 29
the county auditor may be used in any polling place, voting center, 30
or disability access voting location. No voter is entitled to vote 31
more than once at a primary or a general or special election, except 32
that if a voter incorrectly marks a ballot, he or she may return it 33
and be issued a new ballot. The precinct election officers shall void 34
the incorrectly marked ballot and return it to the county auditor.35
p. 39 HB 1584
NEW SECTION. Sec. 58. Paper records produced by electronic 1
voting devices are subject to all the requirements of this chapter 2
and chapter 29A.60 RCW for ballot handling, preservation, 3
reconciliation, transit to the counting center, and storage. The 4
paper records must be preserved in the same manner and for the same 5
period of time as ballots.6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 59. (1) At the direction of the county 7
auditor, a team or teams composed of a representative of at least two 8
major political parties must stop at designated polling places, 9
absentee drop box locations, and voting centers and pick up the 10
sealed containers of voted, untallied ballots for delivery to the 11
counting center. There may be more than one delivery from each 12
polling place, absentee drop box location, or voting center. Two 13
precinct election officials, representing two major political 14
parties, shall seal the voted ballots in containers furnished by the 15
county auditor and properly identified with his or her address with 16
uniquely prenumbered seals. Before the ballots are given to the teams 17
of representatives, the representatives must show a government-issued 18
photo identification card to prove their identity.19
(2) At the counting center or the collection stations where the 20
sealed ballot containers are delivered by the designated 21
representatives of the major political parties, the county auditor or 22
a designated representative of the county auditor shall receive the 23
sealed ballot containers, record the time, date, precinct name or 24
number, and seal number of each ballot container, and ensure that the 25
seal has not been tampered with. 26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 60. The county auditor must provide in each 27
polling place and voting center a sufficient number of voting booths 28
or voting devices along with any supplies necessary to enable the 29
voter to mark or register the voter's choices on the ballot and 30
within which the voters may cast their votes in secrecy.31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 61. At all primaries and elections, general 32
or special, in all counties the polls must be kept open from 7:00 33
a.m. to 8:00 p.m. each day of the voting period as specified in RCW 34
29A.40.160. All qualified electors who are in line at the polling 35
place or voting center at 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary, 36
special, or general election must be allowed to cast their votes. The 37
p. 40 HB 1584
precinct election officers shall identify the last person in line at 1
that time. The polls for a precinct must remain open continuously 2
until that person has voted, at which point the precinct election 3
officers shall announce that the polls for that precinct are closed.4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 62. A registered voter is not allowed to vote 5
in the precinct in which the voter is registered at any election or 6
primary for which the voter has already cast an absentee ballot. A 7
registered voter who has requested an absentee ballot for a primary 8
or special or general election but chooses to vote at the voter's 9
precinct polling place or voting center in that primary or election 10
may cast a provisional ballot. The canvassing board may not count the 11
ballot if it finds that the voter has also voted by absentee ballot 12
in that primary or election.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 63. (1) No later than the day before the 14
voting period specified in RCW 29A.40.160, the county auditor shall 15
provide to the inspector, or one of the judges of each precinct or to 16
one of the inspectors of a polling place or voting center where more 17
than one precinct will be voting, all of the ballots, precinct lists 18
of registered voters, and other supplies necessary for conducting the 19
election or primary.20
(2) Upon closing the registration files preceding an election, 21
the county auditor shall deliver the precinct lists of registered 22
voters to the inspector or one of the judges of each precinct or 23
group of precincts located at the polling place or voting center 24
before the polls open. 25
(3) In precincts where votes are cast on paper ballots, the 26
following supplies, in addition to those specified in subsection (1) 27
of this section, must be provided: 28
(a) Two tally books in which the names of the candidates must be 29
listed in the order in which they appear on the sample ballots and in 30
each case have the proper party designation at the head thereof; and31
(b) Two certificates or two sample ballots prepared as blanks, 32
for recording the unofficial results by the precinct election 33
officers. 34
NEW SECTION. Sec. 64. (1) Each county auditor shall provide 35
voting and registration instructions, printed in large type, to be 36
p. 41 HB 1584
conspicuously displayed at each polling place, voting center, and 1
permanent registration facility. 2
(2) The county auditor shall make information available for deaf 3
persons throughout the state by telecommunications.4
(3) Each polling place and voting center must provide at least 5
one voting unit certified by the secretary of state that provides 6
access to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, enabling 7
them to vote with privacy and independence. 8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 65. The precinct election officers for each 9
precinct shall meet at the designated polling place or voting center 10
at the time set by the county auditor.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 66. Before opening the polls for a precinct, 12
the voting equipment must be inspected to determine if it has been 13
properly prepared for voting. If the voting equipment is capable of 14
direct tabulation of each voter's choices, the precinct election 15
officers must verify that no votes have been registered for any issue 16
or office to be voted on at that primary or election. Every ballot 17
box must be carefully examined by the election judges to determine 18
that it is empty. The ballot box must then be sealed or locked with a 19
unique numbered seal at the time of final preparation and logic and 20
accuracy testing. A log must be made of all device numbers and seal 21
numbers. The ballot box may not be opened before the certification of 22
the primary or election except in the manner and for the purposes 23
provided under this title.24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 67. At all primaries and elections, the flag 25
of the United States must be conspicuously displayed in front of each 26
polling place and voting center.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 68. The precinct election officers, 28
immediately before they start to issue ballots or permit a voter to 29
vote, shall announce at the place of voting that the polls for that 30
precinct are open.31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 69. The precinct election officers shall 32
periodically examine the voting devices to determine if they have 33
been tampered with.34
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 70. (1) A voter desiring to vote must give 1
his or her name to the precinct election officer who has the precinct 2
list of registered voters.3
(2) Any person desiring to vote at any primary or election is 4
required to provide valid photo identification to the election 5
officer before being issued a ballot or being permitted to enter the 6
voting booth. The identification required in this section must be a 7
driver's license, state identification card, tribal identification 8
card, or a voter identification issued by a county elections officer. 9
A tribal identification card is not required to include a residential 10
address or an expiration date to be considered valid under this 11
section. 12
(3) Upon receiving valid identification from the voter, the 13
precinct election officer shall announce the voter's name to the 14
precinct election officer who has the copy of the inspector's poll 15
book for that precinct. If the right of this voter to participate in 16
the primary or election is not challenged, the voter must be issued a 17
ballot or permitted to enter a voting booth or to operate a voting 18
device. The number of the ballot or the voter must be recorded by the 19
precinct election officers. If the right of the voter to participate 20
is challenged, RCW 29A.08.810 and 29A.08.820 apply to that voter.21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 71. Provisional ballots must be issued, along 22
with a provisional ballot outer envelope and a security envelope, to 23
voters as appropriate under this title. The provisional ballot outer 24
envelope must include a place for the voter's name; registered 25
address, both present and former if applicable; date of birth; reason 26
for the provisional ballot; the precinct number and the precinct 27
polling location or voting center location at which the voter has 28
voted; and a space for the county auditor to list the disposition of 29
the provisional ballot. The provisional ballot outer envelope must 30
also contain a declaration as required for absentee ballot outer 31
envelopes under RCW 29A.40.091; a place for the voter to sign the 32
oath; and a summary of the applicable penalty provisions of this 33
chapter. The voter shall vote the provisional ballot in secrecy and, 34
when done, place the provisional ballot in the security envelope, 35
then place the security envelope into the outer envelope, and return 36
it to the precinct election official. The election official shall 37
ensure that the required information is completed on the outer 38
envelope, have the voter sign it in the appropriate space, and place 39
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the envelope in a secure container. The official shall then give the 1
voter written information advising the voter how to ascertain whether 2
the vote was counted and, if applicable, the reason why the vote was 3
not counted. 4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 72. (1) Any person desiring to vote at any 5
primary or election is required to sign his or her name on the 6
appropriate precinct list of registered voters. If the voter 7
registered using a mark, or can no longer sign his or her name, the 8
election officers shall require the voter to be identified by another 9
registered voter. The precinct election officers shall then record 10
the voter's name.11
(2) On signing the precinct list of registered voters or being 12
issued a ballot, the voter shall, without leaving the polling place, 13
voting center, or disability access location, proceed to one of the 14
voting booths or voting devices to cast his or her vote. When county 15
election procedures so provide, the election officers may tear off 16
and retain the numbered stub from the ballot before delivering it to 17
the voter. If an election officer has not already done so, when the 18
voter has finished, he or she shall either (a) remove the numbered 19
stub from the ballot, place the ballot in the ballot box, and return 20
the number to the election officers, or (b) deliver the entire ballot 21
to the election officers, who shall remove the numbered stub from the 22
ballot and place the ballot in the ballot box. For a partisan primary 23
in a jurisdiction using the physically separate ballot format, the 24
voter shall also return unvoted party ballots to the precinct 25
election officers, who shall void the unvoted party ballots and 26
return them to the county auditor. If poll-site ballot counting 27
devices are used, the voter shall put the ballot in the device.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 73. (1) A voter voting on an electronic 29
voting device may not leave the device during the voting process, 30
except to request assistance from the precinct election officers, 31
until the voting process is completed.32
(2) Any voter may take printed or written material into the 33
voting device to assist in casting his or her vote. The voter may not 34
use this material to electioneer and must remove it when he or she 35
leaves the polling place or voting center. 36
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 74. As each voter casts his or her vote, the 1
precinct election officers shall insert in the poll books or precinct 2
list of registered voters opposite that voter's name, a notation to 3
credit the voter with having participated in that primary or 4
election. No record may be made of a voter's party affiliation in a 5
partisan primary. The precinct election officers shall record the 6
voter's name so that a separate record is kept.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 75. (1) Voting must be secret except to the 8
extent necessary to assist sensory or physically disabled voters.9
(2) If any voter declares in the presence of the election 10
officers that because of sensory or physical disability he or she is 11
unable to register or record his or her vote, he or she may designate 12
a person of his or her choice or two election officers from opposite 13
political parties to enter the voting machine booth with him or her 14
and record his or her vote as he or she directs. 15
(3) A person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 76. (1) Paper ballots may be tabulated at the 17
precinct polling place or voting center before the closing of the 18
polls. The tabulation of ballots, paper or otherwise, must be open to 19
the public, but no persons except those employed and authorized by 20
the county auditor may touch a ballot card or ballot container or 21
operate vote tallying equipment.22
(2) The results of the tabulation of paper ballots at the polls 23
must be delivered to the county auditor as soon as the tabulation is 24
complete. 25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 77. (1) An individual who votes in an 26
election for federal office as a result of a federal or state court 27
order or any other order extending the time for closing the polls may 28
vote in that election only by casting a provisional ballot. As to 29
court orders extending the time for closing the polls, this section 30
does not apply to any voters who were present in the polling place or 31
voting center at the statutory closing time and are permitted to vote 32
under this chapter. This section does not, by itself, authorize any 33
court to order that any individual be permitted to vote or to extend 34
the time for closing the polls, but this section is intended to 35
comply with 52 U.S.C. Sec. 21082(c) with regard to federal elections.36
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(2) Any ballot cast under subsection (1) of this section must be 1
separated and held apart from other provisional ballots cast by those 2
not affected by the order. 3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 78. At each precinct immediately after the 4
last qualified voter has cast his or her vote, the precinct election 5
officers shall render unusable and secure in a container all unused 6
ballots for that precinct and return them to the county auditor.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 79. Immediately after the unused ballots are 8
secure, the precinct election officers shall count the number of 9
voted ballots and make a record of any discrepancy between this 10
number and the number of voters who signed the poll book for that 11
precinct, voting center, or polling place, complete the 12
certifications in the poll book, prepare the ballots for transfer to 13
the counting center if necessary, and seal the voting devices.14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 80. The precinct list of registered voters 15
for each precinct or group of precincts delivered to the precinct 16
election officers for use on the day of an election held in that 17
precinct shall be returned by them to the county auditor upon the 18
completion of the count of the votes cast in the precinct at that 19
election. While in possession of the county auditor they shall be 20
open to public inspection under such reasonable rules and regulations 21
as may be prescribed therefor.22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 81. In precincts where poll-site ballot 23
counting devices are used, the election officers, before initializing 24
the device for voting, must proceed as follows:25
(1) They must verify that the device is placed where it can be 26
conveniently attended by the election officers and conveniently 27
operated by the voters; 28
(2) They must verify that the number or other designating mark on 29
the device's seal agrees with the control number provided by the 30
elections department. If the numbers do not agree, the officers must 31
at once notify the elections department and delay initializing the 32
device. The polls may be opened pending reexamination of the device;33
(3) If the numbers do agree, the officers shall proceed to 34
initialize the device and verify that the public counter registers 35
"000." If the counter is found to register a number other than "000," 36
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one of the judges must at once set the counter at "000" and confirm 1
that the ballot box is empty; 2
(4) Before processing any ballots through a poll-site ballot 3
counting device, a zero report must be produced. The inspector and at 4
least one of the judges must carefully verify that zero ballots have 5
been run through the poll-site ballot counting device and that all 6
vote totals for each office are zero. If the totals are not zero, the 7
inspector must either reset the device to zero or contact the 8
elections department to reset the device and allow voting to continue 9
using the auxiliary or emergency device. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 82. Whenever poll-site ballot counting 11
devices are used, the devices may either be included with the 12
supplies required in this chapter or they may be delivered to the 13
polling place or voting center separately. All poll-site ballot 14
counting devices must be sealed with a unique numbered seal at the 15
time of final preparation and logic and accuracy testing. A log must 16
be made of all seal numbers and device numbers used.17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 83. The programmed memory pack for each poll-18
site ballot counting device must be sealed into the device during 19
final preparation and logic and accuracy testing. Except in the case 20
of a device breakdown, the memory pack must remain sealed in the 21
device until after the polls have closed and all reports and 22
telephonic or electronic transfer of results are completed. After all 23
reporting is complete, the precinct election officers responsible for 24
transferring the sealed voted ballots under RCW 29A.60.110 must 25
ensure that the memory pack is returned to the elections department. 26
If the entire poll-site ballot counting device is returned, the 27
memory pack must remain sealed in the device. If the poll-site ballot 28
counting device is to remain at the polling place or voting center, 29
the precinct election officer shall break the seal on the device and 30
remove the memory pack and seal and return it along with the 31
irregularly voted ballots and special ballots to the elections 32
department on election day.33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 84. Each poll-site ballot counting device 34
must be programmed to return all blank ballots and overvoted ballots 35
to the voter for private reexamination. The election officer must 36
take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the secrecy of the 37
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ballot is maintained. The precinct election officer must provide 1
information and instruction on how to properly mark the ballot. The 2
voter may remark the original ballot, request a new ballot under this 3
chapter, or choose to complete a special ballot envelope and return 4
the ballot as a special ballot. 5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 85. If a poll-site ballot counting device 6
fails to operate at any time during polling hours, voting center 7
hours, or disability access voting hours, voting must continue, and 8
the ballots must be deposited for later tabulation in a secure ballot 9
compartment separate from the tabulated ballots.10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 86. (1) At least 10 days prior to any primary 11
or election, general or special, the county auditor shall appoint one 12
inspector and two judges of election for each precinct or each 13
combination of precincts temporarily consolidated as a single 14
precinct for that primary or election. Except as provided in 15
subsection (4) of this section, the persons appointed must be among 16
those whose names are contained on the lists furnished by the 17
chairpersons of the county central committees of the political 18
parties entitled to representation thereon. Such precinct election 19
officers, whenever possible, should be residents of the precinct in 20
which they serve.21
(2) The county auditor may delete from the lists of names 22
submitted to the auditor by the chairpersons of the county central 23
committees: 24
(a) The names of those persons who indicate to the auditor that 25
they cannot or do not wish to serve as precinct election officers for 26
the primary or election or who otherwise cannot so serve; and27
(b) The names of those persons who lack the ability to conduct 28
properly the duties of an inspector or judge of election after 29
training in that proper conduct has been made available to them by 30
the auditor. 31
(3) The lists which are submitted to the auditor in a timely 32
manner under this chapter, less the deletions authorized by this 33
section, constitute the official nomination lists for inspectors and 34
judges of election. 35
(4) If the number of persons whose names are on the official 36
nomination list for a political party is not sufficient to satisfy 37
the requirements of subsection (5) of this section as it applies to 38
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that political party or is otherwise insufficient to provide the 1
number of precinct election officials required from that political 2
party, the auditor must notify the chair of the party's county 3
central committee regarding the deficiency. The chair may, within 4
five business days of being notified by the auditor, add to the 5
party's nomination list the names of additional persons belonging to 6
that political party who are qualified to serve on the election 7
boards. To the extent that, following this procedure, the number of 8
persons whose names appear on the official nomination lists of the 9
political parties is insufficient to provide the number of election 10
inspectors and judges required for a primary or election, the auditor 11
may appoint a properly trained person whose name does not appear on 12
such a list as an inspector or judge of election for a precinct.13
(5) The county auditor shall designate the inspector and one 14
judge in each precinct from that political party which polled the 15
highest number of votes in the county for its candidate for president 16
at the last preceding presidential election and one judge from that 17
political party polling the next highest number of votes in the 18
county for its candidate for president at the same election. The 19
provisions of this subsection apply only if the number of names on 20
the official nomination list for inspectors and judges of election 21
for a political party is sufficient to satisfy the requirements 22
imposed by this subsection. 23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 87. At the same time the officer having 24
jurisdiction of the election appoints the inspector and two judges as 25
provided in section 86 of this act, he or she may appoint one or more 26
persons to act as clerks if in his or her judgment such additional 27
persons are necessary, except that in precincts in which voting 28
machines are used, the judges of election shall perform the duties 29
required to be performed by clerks. Each clerk appointed shall 30
represent a major political party. The political party representation 31
of a single set of precinct election officers shall, whenever 32
possible, be equal but, in any event, no single political party shall 33
be represented by more than a majority of one at each polling place 34
or voting center. The election officer having jurisdiction of the 35
election may designate at what hour the clerks must report for duty. 36
The hour may vary among the precincts according to the judgment of 37
the appointing officer.38
p. 49 HB 1584
NEW SECTION. Sec. 88. The precinct committee officer of each 1
major political party shall certify to the officer's county chair a 2
list of those persons belonging to the officer's political party 3
qualified to act upon the election board in the officer's precinct. 4
By the first day of June each year, the chair of the county central 5
committee of each major political party shall certify to the officer 6
having jurisdiction of the election a list of those persons belonging 7
to the county chair's political party in each precinct who are 8
qualified to act on the election board therein. The county chair 9
shall compile this list from the names certified by the various 10
precinct committee officers unless no names or not a sufficient 11
number of names have been certified from a precinct, in which event 12
the county chair may include therein the names of qualified members 13
of the county chair's party selected by the county chair. The county 14
chair shall also have the authority to substitute names of persons 15
recommended by the precinct committee officers if in the judgment of 16
the county chair such persons are not qualified to serve as precinct 17
election officers.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 89. If no election officers have been 19
appointed for a precinct, or if at the hour for opening the polls 20
none of those appointed is present at the polling place or voting 21
center therein, the county auditor may appoint the election board for 22
that precinct. One of the judges may perform the duties of clerk of 23
election. The inspector shall have the power to fill any vacancy that 24
may occur in the board of judges, or by absence or refusal to serve 25
of either of the clerks after the polls shall have been opened.26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 90. There must be just one set of election 27
officers at any one time in each precinct, except as provided in this 28
section. In every precinct using paper ballots having 200 or more 29
registered voters there shall be appointed, and in every precinct 30
having less than 200 registered voters, there may be appointed, at a 31
state primary or state general election, two or more sets of precinct 32
election officers as provided in this chapter. The officer in charge 33
of the election may appoint one or more counting boards at his or her 34
discretion, when he or she decides that because of a long or 35
complicated ballot or because of the number of expected voters, there 36
is need of additional counting board or boards to improve the speed 37
and accuracy of the count. In making such appointments, one or more 38
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sets of precinct election officers shall be designated as the 1
counting board or boards, the first of which shall consist of an 2
inspector, two judges, and a clerk and the second set, if activated, 3
shall consist of two judges and two clerks. The duties of the 4
counting board or boards shall be the count of ballots cast and the 5
return of the election records and supplies to the officer having 6
jurisdiction of the election. One set of precinct election officers 7
shall be designated as the receiving board which shall have all other 8
powers and duties imposed by law for such elections. Nothing in this 9
section prevents the county auditor from appointing relief or 10
replacement precinct election officers at any time during election 11
day. Relief or replacement precinct election officers must be of the 12
same political party as the officer they are relieving or replacing.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 91. The inspector and judges of election in 14
each precinct shall conduct the elections therein and receive, 15
deposit, and count the ballots cast thereat and make returns to the 16
proper canvassing board or officer except that when two or more sets 17
of precinct election officers are appointed, the ballots shall be 18
counted by the counting board or boards as provided in this title and 19
RCW 29A.84.730.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 92. All of the provisions of this chapter 21
relating to counting boards may be applied on an optional basis to 22
any other primary or election, regular or special, at the discretion 23
of the officer in charge of the election.24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 93. The inspector is the chair of the board 25
and is responsible for administering all necessary oaths that may be 26
required in the progress of the election.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 94. (1) The inspector, judges, and clerks of 28
election, before entering upon the duties of their offices, must take 29
and subscribe the prescribed oath or affirmation, as administered to 30
them by any person authorized to administer oaths and verified under 31
the hand of the person by whom such oath or affirmation is 32
administered. If no such person is present, the inspector must 33
administer the same to the judges and clerks, and one of the judges 34
must administer the oath to the inspector. The county auditor shall 35
furnish two copies of the proper form of oath to each precinct 36
p. 51 HB 1584
election officer, one copy thereof, after execution, to be placed and 1
transmitted with the election returns. 2
(2) The following is the form of the oath or affirmation to be 3
taken by each inspector: "I, (full name), do swear (or affirm) that I 4
will duly attend to the ensuing election, during the continuance 5
thereof, as an inspector, and that I will not receive any ballot or 6
vote from any person other than such as I firmly believe to be 7
entitled to vote at such election, without requiring such evidence of 8
the right to vote as is directed by law; nor will I vexatiously delay 9
the vote of, or refuse to receive, a ballot from any person whom I 10
believe to be entitled to vote; but that I will in all things truly, 11
impartially, and faithfully perform my duty therein to the best of my 12
judgment and abilities; and that I am not, directly nor indirectly, 13
interested in any bet or wager on the result of this election."14
(3) The following is the form of the oath to be taken by the 15
judges: "We, (full name), do swear (or affirm) that we will as judges 16
duly attend the ensuing election, during the continuance thereof, and 17
faithfully assist the inspector in carrying on the same; that we will 18
not give our consent to the receipt of any vote or ballot from any 19
person, other than one whom we firmly believe to be entitled to vote 20
at such election; and that we will make a true and perfect return of 21
the said election and will in all things truly, impartially, and 22
faithfully perform our duty respecting the same to the best of our 23
judgment and abilities; and that we are not directly nor indirectly 24
interested in any bet or wager on the result of this election."25
(4) The following is the form of the oath to be taken by the 26
clerks: "We, and each of us, (full name), do swear (or affirm) that 27
we will impartially and truly write down the name of each elector who 28
votes at the ensuing election, and also the name of the county and 29
precinct wherein the elector resides; that we will carefully and 30
truly write down the number of votes given for each candidate at the 31
election as often as his or her name is read to us by the inspector 32
and in all things truly and faithfully perform our duty respecting 33
the same to the best of our judgment and abilities, and that we are 34
not directly nor indirectly interested in any bet or wager on the 35
result of this election." 36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 95. The fees of officers of election shall be 37
as follows:38
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(1) To the judges and clerks of an election not less than the 1
minimum hourly wage per hour as provided under RCW 49.46.020, the 2
exact amount to be fixed by the respective boards of county 3
commissioners for each county. 4
(2) To inspectors, the rate paid to judges and clerks plus an 5
additional two hours' compensation. 6
(3) The precinct election officer picking up the election 7
supplies and returning the election returns to the county auditor 8
shall be entitled to additional compensation, the exact amount to be 9
determined by the respective boards of county commissioners for each 10
county. 11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 96. 2011 c 10 s 85 (uncodified) is repealed.12
NEW SECTION. Sec. 97. (1) Sections 41 through 50 of this act 13
are each added to chapter 29A.16 RCW.14
(2) Sections 51 through 53 of this act are each added to chapter 15
29A.40 RCW. 16
(3) Sections 54 through 95 of this act constitute a new chapter 17
in Title 29A RCW. 18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 98. Section 22 of this act expires January 1, 19
2029.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 99. Section 23 of this act takes effect 21
January 1, 2029.22
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