AN ACT Relating to improving ballot rejection rates while maintaining the integrity of elections; amending RCW 29A.60.110 and 29A.60.125; adding a new section to chapter 29A.60 RCW; creating a new section; and providing a contingent expiration date.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that national data show that the state has had one of the worst ballot rejection rates in the nation for at least ten years. In addition, the legislature finds that there is an unacceptable variance in the rate among the counties in the state. Reducing both the variability and the state rejection rate will help protect an individual's right to vote while preserving the integrity of our elections. Therefore, the legislature intends to direct the state auditor to examine each county that has a ballot rejection rate above the statewide mean to determine best election administration practices that will reduce the variability between counties and improve the state's ballot rejection rate.

(1) By December 1st of every year, the state auditor in concurrence with the secretary of state shall determine and announce the statewide rejected ballot rate mean based on all elections in the state for that year in which more than ten votes were cast. The state auditor shall rank each county from highest to lowest by ballot rejection rate and announce the counties that are above the statewide mean.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, for every county with a ballot rejection rate greater than the statewide mean, the state auditor must conduct an audit to:

(3) A county identified in subsection (2) of this section may request the state auditor for a waiver from audit. The state auditor must grant the waiver if the county demonstrates that: (a) An audit would be unduly burdensome; (b) an audit would not change the results of the elections in the year in question; and (c) the county has taken steps to address its rejection rate.

(4) The state auditor shall prepare a preliminary report of each audit required under this section and submit it to the appropriate county auditor by March 1st of the year following the general election. The county auditor may submit any comments to the state auditor within thirty days of receiving the audit. By June 1st of the year following the general election, the state auditor shall submit a final audit report containing the audits and comments of the individual counties to the appropriate committees of the legislature and make the report available on its web site. The final audit report must include a list of counties that requested a waiver and indicate whether the state auditor granted or denied the waiver under subsection (3) of this section.

(5) By December 1, 2028, the state auditor shall analyze the ballot rejection rates statewide since 2019 and identify any changes in the mean and in the variance among counties and any changes in rejection rates by individual counties. The state auditor shall make recommendations to lower rejection rates and recommend an acceptable rate of rejection. By December 1, 2028, the state auditor shall submit the report to the appropriate committees of the legislature and make the report available on its web site.

(1) Immediately after their tabulation, all ballots counted at a ballot counting center must be sealed in containers that identify the primary or election and be retained for at least sixty days or according to federal law, whichever is longer.

(2) In the presence of major party observers who are available, ballots may be removed from the sealed containers at the elections department and consolidated into one sealed container for storage purposes. The containers may only be opened by the canvassing board as part of the canvass, to conduct recounts, to conduct a random check under RCW 29A.60.170, to conduct an audit under RCW 29A.60.185, to allow the state auditor to conduct an audit under section 2 of this act, or by order of the superior court in a contest or election dispute. If the canvassing board opens a ballot container, it shall make a full record of the additional tabulation or examination made of the ballots. This record must be added to any other record of the canvassing process in that county.

If inspection of the ballot reveals a physically damaged ballot or ballot that may be otherwise unreadable or uncountable by the tabulating system, the county auditor may refer the ballot to the county canvassing board or duplicate the ballot if so authorized by the county canvassing board. The voter's original ballot may not be altered. A ballot may be duplicated only if the intent of the voter's marks on the ballot is clear and the electronic voting equipment might not otherwise properly tally the ballot to reflect the intent of the voter. Ballots must be duplicated by teams of two or more people working together. When duplicating ballots, the county auditor shall take the following steps to create and maintain an audit trail of the action taken:

(1) Each original ballot and duplicate ballot must be assigned the same unique control number, with the number being marked upon the face of each ballot, to ensure that each duplicate ballot may be tied back to the original ballot;

Original and duplicate ballots must be sealed in secure storage at all times, except during duplication, inspection by the canvassing board, tabulation, or to conduct an audit under RCW 29A.60.185 or to allow the state auditor to conduct an audit under section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 1 and 2 of this act expire when the state auditor determines, on a date after December 31, 2028, that no county has a ballot rejection rate that exceeds, by more than five percent, the rejection rate of the county with the lowest rejection rate. The state auditor must provide notice of the expiration date of sections 1 and 2 of this act to the chief clerk of the house of representatives, the secretary of the senate, the office of the code reviser, and others as deemed appropriate by the state auditor.