SEVENTEEN YEAR OLDS PARTICIPATING IN THE PRIMARY—FUTURE VOTERS

(1) "Ballot measure" for the purposes of this chapter means any question put forth for voting that involves a yes/no or approve/disapprove response. This includes, but is not limited to, any bond election; tax levy proposition; election to form, dissolve, or annex territory into a district or municipality; charter adoption, amendment, or abandonment; initiative; referendum; advisory vote; or any issue characterized by finalization of the question.

(2) "Contests prohibited to primary-only voters" means the following contests, even when held in conjunction with a primary:

(a) Any ballot measure; or

(b) Any contest where a candidate is deemed elected following the primary including, but not limited to, candidates for precinct committee officer, freeholder, charter review, and commissioners elected to a newly formed jurisdiction.

(3) "Contests subject to participation by primary-only voters" means the following contests:

(a) Nonpartisan candidate races that contain three or more candidates, appearing on a primary ballot;

(b) Partisan candidate races, regardless of the number of candidates, appearing on a primary ballot; and

(c) The presidential primary as described in chapter 29A.56 RCW regardless of the number of presidential candidates appearing on the ballot.

(4) "Primary-only voter ballots" are ballots issued to primary-only voters that contain only contests subject to participation by primary-only voters, and do not include races or contests prohibited to primary-only voters.

(5) "Primary-only voters" means a voter who is 17 years of age on the day of the primary but will reach the age of 18 on or before the date of the following November general election. Primary-only voters are only authorized to participate in primary elections and prohibited from participating in any special or general election.

(6) "Standard primary ballots" are ballots issued to all voters who are at least 18 years of age on the date of the primary that contain all applicable issues and candidate races for that ballot style.

As authorized by RCW 29A.08.170, persons signed up to register to vote as part of the future voter program are eligible to vote in state and local primaries and presidential primaries if they are 17 years of age on the day of the primary and will be 18 years of age on or before the day of the associated subsequent November general election.

The county auditor may issue standard primary ballots to primary-only voters that contain all eligible races in a state, local, or presidential primary if there are no contests prohibited to primary-only voters on the ballot. When a contest prohibited to primary-only voters is held on the date of the primary as specified in RCW 29A.04.311, county election offices must issue primary-only voter ballots to primary-only voters.

(1) Pursuant to RCW 29A.08.720, personally identifiable information from the voter registration record is exempt from public inspection and copying until the voter is 18 years of age, except for the purpose of processing and delivering ballots.

(2) Pursuant to RCW 29A.40.130, ballot issuance and return information for a primary-only voter, excluding the date of birth, gender, and address, is subject to public disclosure at the time of ballot issuance by the county auditor for a primary that the voter is eligible to participate in.

(3) Pursuant to RCW 29A.08.170, a person who signs up to register to vote must remain as a "future voter" as defined by RCW 29A.04.070 until such time as they will be eligible to vote in the next election. The voter registration information is exempt from public inspection and copying until they are 18 years of age. The ballot issuance and return information is exempt until they are eligible to participate in an election. When a person is eligible to participate in an election, the date of birth, gender, and address of the person is exempt from disclosure when providing ballot issuance and return information in accordance with RCW 29A.40.130 until they are 18 years of age.

(1) If the applicant is provisionally registered pursuant to WAC 434-324-040(5), the county auditor may use other government resources and public records to confirm the applicant's driver's license or state identification card number, valid tribal identification card, or the last four digits of the applicant's Social Security number. The county auditor may also attempt to contact the applicant by phone, email or other means to obtain identification information.

(2) If, after these attempts, the county auditor is still unable to verify the applicant's identity, the county auditor must send the applicant an identification notice at the time of registration that includes a postage prepaid, preaddressed form by which the applicant may verify or send additional information. The identification notice must include:

(a) A statement explaining that because the applicant's identity cannot be verified with the information provided on the application, they have been provisionally registered to vote.

(b) A statement explaining that if this additional information is not provided, the applicant's ballot will not be counted.

(c) A statement explaining that federal law requires the applicant to provide their driver's license number, state identification card number, valid tribal identification card number or the last four digits of their Social Security number, or a copy of one of the following forms of identification, either before or when they vote:

(i) Valid photo identification;

(ii) A valid enrollment card of a federally recognized tribe in Washington;

(iii) A current utility bill, or a current bank statement;

(iv) A current government check;

(v) A current paycheck; or

(vi) A government document, other than a voter registration card, which shows both the registrant's name and current address.

(3) If the applicant responds with updated driver's license, state identification card, valid tribal identification card, or Social Security information, or with a copy of one of the alternative forms of identification, the flag on the voter registration record must be removed, allowing the applicant's ballot to otherwise be counted the first time they vote after registering.

(4) If the applicant fails to respond with adequate documentation to verify the applicant's identity, the applicant's voter registration record must remain flagged. The applicant must be notified at the time of each election that the ballot will not be counted unless adequate verification of identity is provided.

(5) A provisional registration must remain on the official list of registered voters for at least two general elections for federal office. If, after two general elections for federal office, the voter still has not verified or provided information to verify identity, the provisional registration shall be canceled.

(6) The county auditor shall mail an identification notice to a primary-only voter, as defined in WAC 434-232-010, no earlier than 90 days before the primary that they are eligible to participate in.

(7) The county auditor shall not mail an identification notice to a participant in the future voter program established under RCW 29A.08.170 until the participant becomes a registered voter.

(1) The auditor must send an acknowledgment notice to an individual by nonforwardable, address correction requested mail if an individual:

(a) Registers to vote;

(b) Transfers their registration record within the county;

(c) Transfers their registration record from another county within Washington state; or

(d) Changes from one precinct to another because of a change in precinct boundaries.

(2) The acknowledgment notice must include:

(a) Voter's full name;

(b) Mailing address;

(c) County name;

(d) Precinct name and/or number; and

(e) The date the voter registered.

(3) The county auditor shall mail an acknowledgment notice to a primary-only voter, as defined in WAC 434-232-010, no earlier than 90 days before the primary that they are eligible to participate in.

(4) The county auditor shall not mail an acknowledgment notice to a participant in the future voter program established under RCW 29A.08.170 until the participant becomes a registered voter.

(1) When a voter is placed on inactive status, the county auditor must send a confirmation notice to the voter by first-class forwardable mail, and must include a response form that:

(a) Is preaddressed and postage prepaid;

(b) Includes either the voter's date of birth or voter registration number;

(c) Asks the voter to verify their current address; and

(d) Asks the voter to sign the oath in RCW 29A.08.230.

(2) When the voter sends the county auditor a response to the confirmation notice, the auditor must:

(a) Transfer the voter's registration and send the voter an acknowledgment notice if the response indicates that the voter has moved within the county.

(b) Forward the confirmation notice to the voter's new county by mail or electronically if the response indicates that the voter has moved to another county within Washington and the confirmation notice contains the minimum information required by WAC 434-324-036.

The county auditor in the voter's new county must register the voter using the information and signature on the confirmation notice. The new county must transfer the registration from the old county to the new county and send the voter an acknowledgment notice.

(c) Send the voter a voter registration application if the response indicates that the voter has moved to another county within Washington but the confirmation notice does not contain the minimum information required by WAC 434-324-036. The voter shall remain on inactive status according to RCW 29A.08.635.

(d) Cancel the voter's registration if the response indicates that the voter has moved out-of-state and the response is signed.

(e) Keep the voter on inactive status according to RCW 29A.08.635 if the response indicates that the voter has moved out-of-state but is not signed.

(3) The county auditor shall mail a confirmation notice to a primary-only voter, as defined in WAC 434-232-010, no earlier than 90 days before the primary that they are eligible to participate in.

(4) The county auditor shall not mail a confirmation notice to a participant in the future voter program established under RCW 29A.08.170 until the participant becomes a registered voter.

A verification notice must be sent when a voter registration application does not contain all the minimum information required in RCW 29A.08.010. The notice must be sent by first-class forwardable mail and must include a response form that:

(1) Is preaddressed and postage paid or is accompanied by a preaddressed and postage paid return envelope.

(2) Requests that the applicant provide the missing information only.

(3) Requests that the applicant provide the missing information within ((forty-five))45 days from the date the verification notice was mailed.

If the applicant does not respond by the ((forty-five))45 day deadline, the voter registration application is considered void.

(5) The county auditor shall not mail a verification notice to a participant in the future voter program established under RCW 29A.08.170 until the participant becomes a registered voter.