H-1526.1                  _______________________________________________

                                             SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1367

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By House Committee on State Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Jones, Reams and Kessler)

Read first time 02/22/93.

Providing for mandatory election recounts.

          AN ACT Relating to mandatory election recounts; and amending RCW 29.64.015.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  RCW 29.64.015 and 1991 c 90 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) If the official canvass of all of the returns for any office at any primary or election reveals that the difference in the number of votes cast for a candidate apparently nominated or elected to any office and the number of votes cast for the closest apparently defeated opponent is not more than one-half of one percent of the total number of votes cast for both candidates, the county canvassing board shall conduct a recount of all votes cast on that position.

          (a) Whenever such a difference occurs in the number of votes cast for candidates for a position which appears on the ballot in more than one county, the secretary of state shall, within three business days of the day that the returns of the primary or election are first certified by the canvassing boards of those counties, direct those boards to recount all votes cast on the position.

          (b) ((Whenever)) If the difference in the number of votes cast for ((such candidates is)) the apparent winner and the closest apparently defeated opponent is less than one hundred fifty votes and also less than one-fourth of one percent of the total number of votes cast for both candidates, the votes shall be recounted manually or as provided in subsection (3) of this section.

          (2) A mandatory recount shall be conducted in the manner provided by RCW 29.64.020, 29.64.030, and 29.64.040.  No cost of a mandatory recount may be charged to any candidate.

(3) The apparent winner and closest apparently defeated opponent for an office for which a manual recount is required under subsection (1)(b) of this section may select an alternative method of conducting the recount.  To select such an alternative, the two candidates shall agree to the alternative in a signed, written statement filed with the election official for the office.  The recount shall be conducted using the alternative method if:  It is suited to the balloting system that was used for casting the votes for the office; it involves the use of a vote tallying system that is approved for use in this state by the secretary of state; and the vote tallying system is readily available in each county required to conduct the recount.  If more than one balloting system was used in casting votes for the office, an alternative to a manual recount may be selected for each system.

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