HOUSE BILL REPORT

EHB 1341

BYRepresentatives Sanders, Fisher, Miller, Amondson and May

Revising procedures for write-in voting.

House Committe on Constitution, Elections & Ethics

Majority Report:  Do pass with amendment.  (7)

      Signed by Representatives Fisher, Chair; Pruitt, Vice Chair; Amondson, Barnes, R. King, Leonard and Sanders.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 8, 1988

BACKGROUND:

State law authorizes a voter to vote for any person for an office by writing in the name of the person on the ballot.  A number of restrictions apply to such write-in voting for partisan offices.  Among them are:  (a) in general, a write-in vote is invalid unless the political party affiliation of the candidate is indicated; and (b) only those write-in votes for a candidate that constitute the greatest number of a single party designation are valid.

Write-in votes cast by absentee ballot for any uncontested office, other than the office of precinct committeeperson, are not to be tabulated by the canvassing board.

If a person is nominated at a primary as a write-in candidate but has not previously paid the filing fee, the person's name cannot be printed on the general election ballot unless the person pays the filing fee and executes a declaration of candidacy.  In lieu of paying a filing fee, a person filing a declaration of candidacy may indicate that he or she is without sufficient assets or income to pay the fee and attach a nominating petition.

SUMMARY:

A person who desires to be a write-in candidate and have such votes counted at a primary or election must file a declaration of candidacy not later than the day before the primary or election. The declaration of candidacy is similar to that otherwise required by law and must be accompanied by the filing fee or a supplemental nominating petition.  The person may not file if:  the person filed as a candidate (as a write-in or otherwise) for the same office at the preceding primary; or the person has already filed as a write-in candidate (or the person's name appears on the ballot) for another office at that primary or election unless one of the two offices sought is that of precinct committeeperson.

Write-in votes cast for persons who file such declarations and write-in votes for any person appointed by a political party to fill a ballot vacancy must be counted.  Write-in votes for any other person are not to be counted.

The Secretary of State must notify each county auditor of the declarations filed with the Secretary for offices appearing on the ballot in that county.  The county auditor must ensure that the persons who count ballots are notified of all valid write-in candidates before the tabulation of those ballots.

The term "uncontested office" is defined, with regard to the counting of absentee ballots, to mean an office for which only one candidate has filed a declaration of candidacy, either as a write-in candidate or otherwise.

Provisions of law are repealed which require that the party affiliation of a write-in candidate for partisan office be indicated on the ballot by the person casting a vote for a write-in candidate.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):  The amendment permits, but does not require, persons desiring to be write-in candidates to file declarations of candidacy.  It removes a requirement of the bill that a person filing such a declaration pay the filing fee for the office sought.  Write-in votes cast for persons other than those who have filed such declarations or have been appointed to fill a ballot vacancy must also identify the office and the position number or political party (as applicable).  Abbreviations for such information may be accepted if the canvassing board can determine the voter's intent.  No person who has filed a declaration as a write-in candidate may be included in a state voter's (candidate's) pamphlet.

The provisions of the bill identify a number of circumstances which prohibit a person from filing as a write-in candidate.  Although these restrictions still apply to persons who file as write-in candidates under the Senate amendment, only one of these circumstances prohibits the counting of write-in votes cast for persons who have not so filed:  no write-in vote for such a person is valid if that person filed for the same office at the preceding primary.

Fiscal Note:      Requested January 20, 1988.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Representative Miller; John Pearson, Secretary of State's Office; Dean Williams, Snohomish County Auditor; Jane Hague, King County Elections Division; and Karen Flynn, Kitsap County Auditor.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (1) The bill permits election workers to know what to count in write-in campaigns.  It establishes a uniform rule state-wide.  (2) Write-in voting will be more "user friendly".  Voters will no longer be required to identify correctly the office, position, and party of the write-in candidate.  Voters casting write-in votes will no longer be disenfranchised because they error in providing this information or fail to provide it.  (3) Of the six election controversies followed by the office of the Secretary of State after the 1987 election, five involved write-in voting and three of these five resulted in court cases.  (4) Time will no longer be dedicated to counting frivolous write-in votes such as those for fictitious characters.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      Yeas 97; Absent 1

Absent:     Representative Taylor