CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5463

Chapter 17, Laws of 2003

58th Legislature
2003 1st Special Session



ELECTRONIC VOTING PILOT PROJECT



EFFECTIVE DATE: 9/9/03

Passed by the Senate June 5, 2003
  YEAS 45   NAYS 1

BRAD OWEN
________________________________________    
President of the Senate
Passed by the House June 5, 2003
  YEAS 89   NAYS 8

FRANK CHOPP
________________________________________    
Speaker of the House of Representatives


 
CERTIFICATE

I, Milton H. Doumit, Jr., Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5463 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.

MILTON H. DOUMIT JR.
________________________________________    
Secretary
Approved June 20, 2003.








GARY LOCKE
________________________________________    
Governor of the State of Washington
 
FILED
June 20, 2003 - 2:24 p.m.







Secretary of State
State of Washington


_____________________________________________ 

ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5463
_____________________________________________

Passed Legislature - 2003 1st Special Session
State of Washington58th Legislature2003 Regular Session

By Senators Roach, Kastama, Stevens, McCaslin, Oke, Horn, Fairley, Kohl-Welles, Schmidt, Winsley and Shin; by request of Secretary of State

Read first time 01/27/2003.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.



     AN ACT Relating to a pilot project for military and overseas voters to vote over the Internet; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   Notwithstanding any provisions of Title 29 RCW, between the effective date of this act and December 31, 2004, the counties of Thurston, Pierce, Kitsap, Spokane, Snohomish, Island, and Cowlitz may participate in the pilot project Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE) authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 107-107). Participation of the counties must be approved by the secretary of state and implementation must be in compliance with standards and regulations established by the federal voting assistance program of the United States Department of Defense. Between the effective date of this act and December 31, 2004, participating counties must use the SERVE pilot project for all elections for which the SERVE voting system is available for use.
      The SERVE pilot project must allow registered overseas voters, as defined in RCW 29.01.117, and registered service voters, as defined in RCW 29.01.155, to cast their votes electronically, including over the Internet and the World Wide Web. Except for the provisions of RCW 29.36.290 regarding the method for transmitting absentee voting materials and of RCW 29.36.310 regarding the method for processing absentee ballots, votes must be cast and counted in conformity with Title 29 RCW. The SERVE voting system is exempt from the requirements of RCW 29.33.300(6) and 29.33.320(6). Election officials must rely upon the procedures established by the United States Department of Defense for the security, secrecy, and validation of votes cast electronically, but the secretary of state is responsible for verifying the accuracy, secrecy, independence, and security of cast ballots. Votes transmitted over an electronic medium, such as the Internet or the World Wide Web, to the election authority under Title 29 RCW are subject to recount and election contest requirements, but not on the grounds that the vote is invalid or suspect because it was cast electronically. The tabulation of SERVE pilot project votes is subject to the tabulation and observer requirements of RCW 29.54.025. The secretary of state must make certain and confirm that a dependable and accurate ballot tracking procedure is in place for purposes of a statutory recount, as defined in chapter 29.64 RCW.
     The secretary of state and participating counties must make every effort, including media press releases, web site information, and standard mail, to inform registered overseas and service voters of the SERVE pilot project. While county election officials and the secretary of state must inform qualified voters of the SERVE pilot project, communication with participating voters must be similar in nature to communication with voters not participating in the SERVE pilot project. The e-mail addresses of all participating voters must be made available for political purposes, as required by RCW 29.04.095 through 29.04.120.
     The secretary of state must collect and publish data on the number of overseas and service voters who requested to participate in the pilot project, the number of overseas and service voters who participated in the pilot project, the number of ballots received electronically, the number of ballots rejected, and the reasons ballots were rejected. The information must be collected from the participating counties and from designated participating voters. By January 31, 2005, the secretary of state must compile and present a report on the results of the pilot project to the state government committee of the house of representatives and the government operations and elections committee of the senate. In addition to the data collected from participating counties and voters, the secretary of state must provide a complete description of the funding and costs of the SERVE pilot project, including the cost per vote and detailed information on state and county staffing expenditures.
     The secretary of state must terminate the SERVE pilot project within a participating county if, anytime between the effective date of this act and December 31, 2004, the participating county fails to use the SERVE pilot project in any election for which the SERVE voting system is available for use.
     This act expires January 31, 2005.


         Passed by the Senate June 5, 2003.
         Passed by the House June 5, 2003.
         Approved by the Governor June 20, 2003.
         Filed in Office of Secretary of State June 20, 2003.