Local government elections

AN ACT Relating to protecting local representation by 1
strengthening and securing fair elections in local governments; 2
amending RCW 29A.60.221, 29A.52.112, 29A.52.220, 29A.24.010, 3
36.32.040, 36.32.050, 35A.12.040, 28A.343.320, 29A.04.410, 4
29A.12.080, and 29A.36.121; reenacting and amending RCW 29A.36.170; 5
adding new sections to chapter 29A.52 RCW; adding a new section to 6
chapter 29A.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 52.14 RCW; adding 7
a new section to chapter 53.12 RCW; creating a new section; repealing 8
RCW 29A.04.127; and declaring an emergency. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that Washington 11
has a proud tradition of promoting voter freedom and secure 12
elections, which are the bedrock of our state democracy.13
(2) The legislature recognizes that federal voting rights 14
protections are undergoing significant changes, and additional 15
uncertainty is expected in the coming years. These developments may 16
limit or alter the tools historically available to protect against 17
vote dilution and ensure equitable access to the electoral process.18
(3) The legislature further finds that election methods such as 19
ranked choice voting and proportional representation are used in 20
other jurisdictions to reduce vote splitting, more accurately reflect 21
H-2667.1
HOUSE BILL 2210
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Gregerson, Farivar, Ryu, Doglio, Parshley, Ramel,
Simmons, Pollet, Reed, Callan, Obras, Duerr, Scott, Thomas, Ormsby,
Macri, Fosse, Hill, and Zahn
Prefiled 12/30/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on State Government & Tribal Relations.
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voter preferences, and support effective and representative local 1
governance. 2
(4) Local governments require clear and flexible authority to 3
select election methods that support fair representation, accountable 4
leadership, and voter confidence. Current law does not provide 5
sufficient clarity for jurisdictions interested in adopting 6
alternative election systems. 7
(5) To ensure that local jurisdictions retain effective and 8
legally durable options during this period of threats known and 9
unknown, the legislature intends to authorize local governments, for 10
a period of six years, to choose to adopt ranked choice voting, 11
proportional representation, or other approved election methods. Once 12
a jurisdiction elects to use an authorized method within this six-13
year period, it may continue using that method thereafter. This 14
authority is intended to provide practical tools, reduce litigation 15
risk, and promote stable, transparent local governance while federal 16
standards continue to evolve. 17
(6) Nothing in this act diminishes existing rights or remedies 18
under state law, including the Washington voting rights act, chapter 19
29A.92 RCW. This act is intended solely to expand the range of lawful 20
election tools available to local jurisdictions during the specified 21
decision period. 22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 29A.52 23
RCW to read as follows: 24
(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this 25
section, a county, city, town, school district, fire district, or 26
port district may conduct its elections using ranked choice voting. A 27
county, city, town, school district, fire district, or port district 28
that opts to conduct its elections using ranked choice voting must 29
adopt ranked choice voting before December 31, 2032. A county, city, 30
town, school district, fire district, or port district that adopts 31
ranked choice voting may, but need not, use ranked choice voting for 32
all offices in an election. 33
(2) A city, town, school district, fire district, or port 34
district that has voters in more than one county may conduct an 35
election using ranked choice voting only if: 36
(a) Another city, town, or district that lies entirely within at 37
least two of the counties in which the city, town, or district has 38
voters uses ranked choice voting; or 39
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(b) A court orders the use of ranked choice voting as provided in 1
this section as a remedy under RCW 29A.92.110. 2
(3) Ranked choice voting may not be used in an election for an 3
office for which two or fewer candidates are competing.4
(4) An election using ranked choice voting must meet the 5
following requirements: 6
(a) The county auditor shall design the ballot to allow a voter 7
to rank the candidates for a particular office in order of 8
preference, including one write-in candidate; 9
(b) The county auditor must allow a voter to rank at least five 10
candidates per office. The secretary of state may adopt rules that 11
determine the maximum number of candidates per office that a voter is 12
allowed to rank on a ballot in order to accommodate technical 13
limitations from voting systems and ensure compatibility with all 14
ballot formats; 15
(c) A voter does not need to rank the maximum number of 16
candidates. The county auditor shall count a ballot regardless of how 17
many candidates the voter has ranked. The county auditor shall not 18
count votes for rankings made by a voter that are greater than the 19
maximum number of rankings allowed for each office;20
(d) If a voter skips one or more numbers in ranking candidates, 21
or ranks an invalid write-in candidate, the county auditor shall 22
count any votes after the skipped number for the voter's next-highest 23
ranked candidates as if the voter had not skipped the number;24
(e) If a voter provides the same number ranking to more than one 25
candidate, the county auditor may not count that vote ranking for any 26
candidate and may not count a vote for any subsequent number ranking 27
for that office; 28
(f) The election must be one of two types of ranked choice voting 29
elections. If the election is a single-winner contest, including an 30
election in which multiple positions with the same name, district 31
number, or title are dealt with as separate offices, the winner of 32
each contest must be determined using the instant runoff voting 33
method, as defined in this section and further provided in secretary 34
of state rules. If the election is a multiwinner contest in which the 35
positions are not dealt with as separate offices, the winners must be 36
determined using the single transferable vote method, as defined in 37
this section and further provided in secretary of state rules;38
(g) If the requisite number of officers have not been elected, or 39
selected to continue to further rounds of vote tabulation, by reason 40
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of two or more persons having an equal and highest number of votes 1
for the same office, the official empowered by state law to issue the 2
original certificate of election shall resolve the tie as provided in 3
RCW 29A.60.221. 4
(5) A county, city, town, or district that conducts a general 5
election for a single-winner contest using ranked choice voting must 6
hold a primary to winnow candidates for the election to a final list 7
of five candidates. The primary is not conducted using ranked choice 8
voting. Voters in the primary may vote for one candidate, and the top 9
five candidates will be certified as qualified to appear on the 10
general election ballot. A county, city, town, or district that 11
conducts a general election for a multiwinner contest using ranked 12
choice voting may not hold a primary. 13
(6) A county, city, town, or district that adopts ranked choice 14
voting must consult with its county auditor to determine the date 15
when ranked choice voting will be implemented, which must be within 16
two years following its adoption, unless a specific implementation 17
date is provided in a court order directing a jurisdiction to use 18
ranked choice voting as a remedy under RCW 29A.92.110.19
(7) The county auditor whose county encompasses a county, city, 20
town, or district that adopts ranked choice voting is responsible for 21
the implementation of the system. If a city, town, or district has 22
voters in two or more counties, each county auditor in which the 23
city, town, or district has voters is responsible for its 24
implementation. 25
(8) The secretary of state shall adopt rules to administer this 26
section by May 1, 2027. The secretary's rules must address, at 27
minimum: 28
(a) Procedures for administering an election that includes voters 29
in more than one county as provided in subsection (2) of this 30
section; and 31
(b) Procedures for tabulating votes under the instant runoff 32
voting method and single transferable vote method as provided in 33
subsection (4) of this section. 34
(9) As used in this section: 35
(a) "Ranked choice voting" means a method of counting votes in 36
which votes are tabulated based on a voter's ranking of candidates in 37
order of preference as provided in this section. 38
(b) "Instant runoff voting method" means a method of counting 39
votes in which ballots are counted in rounds and the candidate 40
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receiving the fewest number of votes is eliminated, continuing until 1
one candidate receives a majority of all votes counted in that round 2
and is declared the winner. 3
(c) "Single transferable vote method" means a method of counting 4
votes in which: 5
(i) A winning threshold is calculated based on the number of 6
votes cast and the number of seats to be filled, plus one;7
(ii) Ballots are counted in rounds, and at the end of each round 8
any candidate who receives enough votes to pass the winning threshold 9
is declared elected. Any votes received by that candidate in excess 10
of the threshold to win are transferred to other candidates. After 11
all such votes have been transferred so that no candidate has votes 12
exceeding the winning threshold, the candidate with the least number 13
of votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to other 14
candidates in the next round; and 15
(iii) The counting process stops when the number of elected 16
candidates equals the number of seats to be filled, or the number of 17
candidates remaining equals the number of seats not yet filled by an 18
elected candidate. 19
(10) This section does not apply to any jurisdiction that adopts 20
ranked choice voting for one or more offices prior to the effective 21
date of this section. 22
Sec. 3. RCW 29A.60.221 and 2004 c 271 s 176 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
(1) If the requisite number of any federal, state, county, city, 25
or district offices have not been nominated in a primary by reason of 26
two or more persons having an equal and requisite number of votes for 27
being placed on the general election ballot, the official empowered 28
by state law to certify candidates for the general election ballot 29
shall give notice to the several persons so having the equal and 30
requisite number of votes to attend at the appropriate office at the 31
time designated by that official, who shall then and there proceed 32
publicly to decide by lot which of those persons will be declared 33
nominated and placed on the general election ballot.34
(2) If the requisite number of any federal, state, county, city, 35
district, or precinct officers have not been elected by reason of two 36
or more persons having an equal and highest number of votes for one 37
and the same office, the official empowered by state law to issue the 38
original certificate of election shall give notice to the several 39
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persons so having the highest and equal number of votes to attend at 1
the appropriate office at the time to be appointed by that official, 2
who shall then and there proceed publicly to decide by lot which of 3
those persons will be declared duly elected, and the official shall 4
make out and deliver to the person thus duly declared elected a 5
certificate of election. 6
(3) For a tie occurring at any point in the counting process of 7
an election conducted using ranked choice voting as provided in 8
section 2 of this act, the official empowered by state law to certify 9
candidates for the general election ballot shall resolve the tie 10
using the lot method described in this section. If the tie occurs 11
before the final round of counting, the tie must be resolved as 12
expeditiously as possible.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 29A.04 14
RCW to read as follows: 15
"Primary" or "primary election" means a procedure for winnowing 16
candidates for public office to a final list of two as part of a 17
special or general election, or to a final list of five in a county, 18
city, town, or district election that uses ranked choice voting as 19
provided in section 2 of this act. Each voter has the right to cast a 20
vote for any candidate for each office without any limitation based 21
on party preference or affiliation, of either the voter or the 22
candidate. 23
Sec. 5. RCW 29A.36.170 and 2013 c 143 s 1 and 2013 c 11 s 45 are 24
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 25
For any office for which a primary was held, only the names of 26
the top two candidates will appear on the general election ballot , 27
unless the election will be conducted using ranked choice voting as 28
provided in section 2 of this act, in which case only the names of 29
the top five candidates will appear on the general election ballot ; 30
the name of the candidate who received the greatest number of votes 31
will appear first and the candidate who received the next greatest 32
number of votes will appear second. No candidate's name may be 33
printed on the subsequent general election ballot unless he or she 34
receives at least one percent of the total votes cast for that office 35
at the preceding primary, if a primary was conducted. On the ballot 36
at the general election for an office for which no primary was held, 37
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the names of the candidates shall be listed in the order determined 1
pursuant to RCW 29A.36.131. 2
Sec. 6. RCW 29A.52.112 and 2014 c 7 s 1 are each amended to read 3
as follows: 4
(1) A primary is a first stage in the public process by which 5
voters elect candidates to public office. 6
(2) Whenever candidates for a partisan office are to be elected, 7
the general election must be preceded by a primary conducted under 8
this chapter , unless the general election is a multiwinner contest 9
using ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of this act.10
(3) Based upon votes cast at the primary, the top two candidates , 11
or the top five candidates in a primary for a single-winner general 12
election conducted using ranked choice voting as provided in section 13
2 of this act, will be certified as qualified to appear on the 14
general election ballot ((, unless only one candidate qualifies as 15
provided in RCW 29A.36.170)). 16
(((3))) (4) No primary may be held for any single county partisan 17
office to fill an unexpired term if, after the last day allowed for 18
candidates to withdraw, only one candidate has filed for the 19
position. 20
(((4))) (5) For partisan office, if a candidate has expressed a 21
party preference on the declaration of candidacy, then that 22
preference will be shown after the name of the candidate on the 23
primary and general election ballots as set forth in rules of the 24
secretary of state. A candidate may choose to express no party 25
preference. Any party preferences are shown for the information of 26
voters only and may in no way limit the options available to voters.27
Sec. 7. RCW 29A.52.220 and 2013 c 195 s 1 are each amended to 28
read as follows: 29
(1) No primary may be held for any single position in any 30
nonpartisan office if, after the last day allowed for candidates to 31
withdraw, there are no more than two candidates filed for the 32
position. The county auditor shall as soon as possible notify all the 33
candidates so affected that the office for which they filed will not 34
appear on the primary ballot. 35
(2) No primary may be held for an office in a county, city, town, 36
or district that is conducting a multiwinner general election using 37
ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of this act.38
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(3) No primary may be held for the office of commissioner of a 1
park and recreation district or for the office of cemetery district 2
commissioner. 3
(((3))) (4) Names of candidates for offices that do not appear on 4
the primary ballot shall be printed upon the general election ballot 5
in the manner specified by RCW 29A.36.131. 6
Sec. 8. RCW 29A.24.010 and 2003 c 111 s 601 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
(1) Not less than thirty days before the first day for filing 9
declarations of candidacy under RCW 29A.24.050 for legislative, 10
judicial, county, city, town, or district office, where more than one 11
position with the same name, district number, or title will be voted 12
upon at the succeeding election, the filing officer shall designate 13
the positions to be filled by number , except as provided in 14
subsection (3) of this section. 15
(2) The positions so designated shall be dealt with as separate 16
offices for all election purposes. With the exception of the office 17
of justice of the supreme court, the position numbers shall be 18
assigned, whenever possible, to reflect the position numbers that 19
were used to designate the same positions at the last full-term 20
election for those offices. 21
(3) In an election conducted using ranked choice voting as 22
provided in section 2 of this act in which there is more than one 23
position with the same name, district number, or title, the county, 24
city, town, or district shall choose whether the filing officer will 25
designate the positions to be filled by number and deal with 26
positions as separate offices.27
Sec. 9. RCW 36.32.040 and 2018 c 113 s 205 are each amended to 28
read as follows: 29
(1) Except as provided in subsection s (2) and (3) of this 30
section, the qualified electors of each county commissioner district, 31
and they only, shall nominate from among their own number, candidates 32
for the office of county commissioner of such commissioner district 33
to be voted for at the following general election. Such candidates 34
shall be nominated in the same manner as candidates for other county 35
and district offices are nominated in all other respects.36
(2) ((Where)) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this 37
section, where the commissioners of a county composed entirely of 38
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islands with a population of less than thirty-five thousand have 1
chosen to divide the county into unequal-sized commissioner districts 2
pursuant to the exception provided in RCW 36.32.020, the qualified 3
electors of the entire county shall nominate from among their own 4
number who reside within a commissioner district, candidates for the 5
office of county commissioner of such commissioner district to be 6
voted for at the following general election. Such candidates shall be 7
nominated in the same manner as candidates for other county offices 8
are nominated in all other respects. 9
(3) A county may conduct an election for county commissioners 10
using ranked choice voting as defined in section 2 of this act.11
(4) The commissioners of any county may authorize a change to 12
their electoral system pursuant to RCW 29A.92.040.13
Sec. 10. RCW 36.32.050 and 2018 c 301 s 7 are each amended to 14
read as follows: 15
(1) Except as provided otherwise in subsection (2) of this 16
section or this chapter, county commissioners shall be elected by the 17
qualified voters of the county and the person receiving the highest 18
number of votes for the office of commissioner for the district in 19
which he or she resides shall be declared duly elected from that 20
district. 21
(2) Beginning in 2022, in any noncharter county with a population 22
of four hundred thousand or more, county commissioners must be 23
nominated and elected by the qualified electors of the commissioner 24
district in which he or she resides. The person receiving the highest 25
number of votes at a general election for the office of commissioner 26
for the district in which he or she resides must be declared duly 27
elected from that district. 28
(3) A county may conduct an election for county commissioners 29
using ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of this act.30
(a) A county that deals with commissioner positions as separate 31
offices and adopts ranked choice voting using the instant runoff 32
voting method as provided in section 2 of this act shall hold a 33
primary to winnow the list of candidates in the district to five.34
(b) A county that chooses not to deal with commissioner positions 35
as separate offices and instead adopts ranked choice voting in a 36
multiwinner contest using the single transferable vote method as 37
provided in section 2 of this act may not hold a primary for those 38
positions.39
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Sec. 11. RCW 35A.12.040 and 2015 c 53 s 52 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) Officers shall be elected at biennial municipal elections to 3
be conducted as provided in chapter 35A.29 RCW. The mayor and the 4
councilmembers shall be elected for four-year terms of office and 5
until their successors are elected and qualified and assume office in 6
accordance with RCW 29A.60.280. At any first election upon 7
reorganization, councilmembers shall be elected as provided in RCW 8
35A.02.050. Thereafter the requisite number of councilmembers shall 9
be elected biennially as the terms of their predecessors expire and 10
shall serve for terms of four years. ((The)) Except as provided in 11
subsection (2) of this section, the positions to be filled on the 12
city council shall be designated by consecutive numbers and shall be 13
dealt with as separate offices for all election purposes. Election to 14
positions on the council shall be by majority vote from the city at 15
large, unless provision is made by charter or ordinance for election 16
by wards. The mayor and councilmembers shall qualify by taking an 17
oath or affirmation of office and as may be provided by law, charter, 18
or ordinance. 19
(2) If a city or town uses ranked choice voting as provided in 20
section 2 of this act, the city or town shall choose whether the 21
council positions to be filled will be designated by number and dealt 22
with as separate offices.23
Sec. 12. RCW 28A.343.320 and 2015 c 53 s 11 are each amended to 24
read as follows: 25
(1) Candidates for the position of school director shall file 26
their declarations of candidacy as provided in Title 29A RCW.27
((The)) (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, 28
the positions of school directors in each district shall be dealt 29
with as separate offices for all election purposes, and where more 30
than one position is to be filled, each candidate shall file for one 31
of the positions so designated: PROVIDED, That in school districts 32
containing director districts, or a combination of director districts 33
and director at large positions, candidates shall file for such 34
director districts or at large positions. Position numbers shall be 35
assigned to correspond to director district numbers to the extent 36
possible. 37
(3) If the school board uses ranked choice voting as provided in 38
section 2 of this act, the school board shall choose whether to deal 39
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with the positions of school directors as separate offices for 1
elections purposes. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. A new section is added to chapter 52.14 3
RCW to read as follows: 4
A board of fire commissioners may conduct an election for fire 5
commissioner using ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of 6
this act. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 53.12 8
RCW to read as follows: 9
A port commission may conduct an election for port commissioner 10
using ranked choice voting as provided in section 2 of this act.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. A new section is added to chapter 29A.52 12
RCW to read as follows: 13
(1) Whenever a voting jurisdiction changes to a method of ranking 14
candidates, the county auditor, in coordination with that 15
jurisdiction, must notify the public of the change and create a 16
public education campaign focused on familiarizing voters with any 17
unique elements of the new process pursuant to best practices. The 18
public education campaign should consider the needs of all voters in 19
the jurisdiction, including: 20
(a) Persons with limited English proficiency and for whom English 21
is not their first language; and 22
(b) Persons with developmental disabilities and other 23
disabilities that require assistance in understanding the new method.24
(2) In jurisdictions where federal, state, or local law requires 25
services for voting in languages other than English, there must also 26
be advertising and education efforts undertaken in each required non-27
English language. 28
(3) All advertising and education efforts must clearly identify 29
the voting jurisdiction that is covered under the new method of 30
ranking candidates to ensure information is effective and consistent.31
(4) All work done by the county auditor under this section is 32
subject to RCW 29A.04.410 and all costs to the county auditor shall 33
be reimbursed by the voting jurisdiction. 34
Sec. 16. RCW 29A.04.410 and 2020 c 337 s 1 are each amended to 35
read as follows: 36
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(1) Every county, city, town, and district, and the state is 1
liable for its proportionate share of the costs when such elections 2
are held in conjunction with other elections held under RCW 3
29A.04.321 and 29A.04.330, except as provided in subsection (2) of 4
this section.5
(2) The costs of implementing a ranked choice voting election, as 6
provided in section 2 of this act, borne by a county must be 7
apportioned under this section to the jurisdiction using ranked 8
choice voting. Implementation costs that must be apportioned under 9
this subsection include the costs associated with:10
(a) Obtaining, upgrading, or developing any tabulation system 11
components necessary for ranked choice voting, including hardware and 12
software;13
(b) The use or maintenance of any tabulation system components 14
necessary for ranked choice voting;15
(c) Hiring, training, and maintaining employees or other 16
personnel needed to conduct ranked choice voting elections; and17
(d) Voter education and outreach associated with ranked choice 18
voting. 19
(3) Whenever any county, city, town, or district, or the state 20
holds any primary or election, general or special, on an isolated 21
date, all costs of such elections must be borne by the county, city, 22
town, or district concerned, or the state as appropriate.23
(4) The purpose of this section is to clearly establish that the 24
county is not responsible for any costs involved in the holding of 25
any city, town, district, state, or federal election.26
(5) In recovering such election expenses, including a reasonable 27
proration of administrative costs, the county auditor shall certify 28
the cost to the county treasurer with a copy to the clerk or auditor 29
of the city, town, or district concerned, or the secretary of state 30
as appropriate. Upon receipt of such certification relating to a 31
city, town, or district, the county treasurer shall make the transfer 32
from any available and appropriate city, town, or district funds to 33
the county current expense fund or to the county election reserve 34
fund if such a fund is established. Each city, town, or district must 35
be promptly notified by the county treasurer whenever such transfer 36
has been completed. However, in those districts wherein a treasurer, 37
other than the county treasurer, has been appointed such transfer 38
procedure does not apply, but the district shall promptly issue its 39
warrant for payment of election costs. State and federal offices are 40
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to be considered one entity for purposes of election cost proration 1
and reimbursement. 2
Sec. 17. RCW 29A.12.080 and 2013 c 11 s 22 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
No voting system or voting device shall be approved by the 5
secretary of state unless it: 6
(1) Secures to the voter secrecy in the act of voting;7
(2) Permits the voter to vote for any person for any office and 8
upon any measure that he or she has the right to vote for;9
(3) Correctly registers all votes cast for any and all persons 10
and for or against any and all measures; 11
(4) Provides that a vote for more than one candidate cannot be 12
cast by one single operation of the voting device or vote tally 13
system except when voting for president and vice president of the 14
United States or in an election using ranked choice voting; and15
(5) ((Except for functions or capabilities unique to this state, 16
has)) Has been tested and certified by an independent testing 17
authority designated by the United States election assistance 18
commission, except:19
(a) For functions or capabilities unique to this state; or20
(b) For stand-alone components of voting systems that have been 21
tested by an independent testing authority designated by the United 22
States election assistance commission but that cannot be officially 23
"certified" because the authority can certify only complete voting 24
systems. 25
Sec. 18. RCW 29A.36.121 and 2013 c 11 s 42 are each amended to 26
read as follows: 27
(1) The positions or offices on a primary consolidated ballot 28
shall be arranged in substantially the following order: United States 29
senator; United States representative; governor; lieutenant governor; 30
secretary of state; state treasurer; state auditor; attorney general; 31
commissioner of public lands; superintendent of public instruction; 32
insurance commissioner; state senator; state representative; county 33
officers; justices of the supreme court; judges of the court of 34
appeals; judges of the superior court; and judges of the district 35
court. ((For)) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, 36
for all other jurisdictions on the primary ballot, the offices in 37
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each jurisdiction shall be grouped together and be in the order of 1
the position numbers assigned to those offices, if any.2
(2) The order of the positions or offices on a general election 3
ballot shall be substantially the same as on a primary ballot except 4
that state ballot issues must be placed before all offices. The 5
offices of president and vice president of the United States shall 6
precede all other offices on a presidential election ballot. The 7
positions on a ballot to be assigned to ballot measures regarding 8
local units of government shall be established by the secretary of 9
state by rule. 10
(3) All offices that are elected using ranked choice voting as 11
provided in section 2 of this act must be grouped together, appearing 12
consecutively and in an order consistent with subsections (1) and (2) 13
of this section. The county auditor may, in the auditor's discretion, 14
place the grouping of offices elected using ranked choice voting at 15
any place on the ballot, except that the grouping of offices may not 16
be placed before any office that is required to come before it under 17
subsections (1) and (2) of this section.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. RCW 29A.04.127 (Primary) and 2005 c 2 s 5 19
& 2003 c 111 s 122 are each repealed.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. This act is necessary for the immediate 21
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of 22
the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes 23
effect immediately.24
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