HOUSE BILL REPORT

                 EHB 1554

                       As Passed House

                       March 14, 1991

Title:  An act relating to voter registration verification procedures.

Brief Description:  Facilitating voter registration address verification.

Sponsor(s):  Representatives Anderson, McLean, Miller, Tate, R. Fisher, Paris and Jacobsen.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

State Government, March 1, 1991, DPA;

Passed House, March 14, 1991, 96-0.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON

STATE GOVERNMENT

Majority Report: Do pass as amended.  Signed by 9 members:  Representatives Anderson, Chair; Pruitt, Vice Chair; McLean, Ranking Minority Member; Bowman, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Chandler; R. Fisher; Grant; O'Brien; and Sheldon.

Staff:  Kenneth Hirst (786-7105).

Background:  The Election Code identifies circumstances under which procedures for cancelling the registration of a voter are to be initiated automatically.  The cancellation procedures are to be initiated regarding a person's registration if any of the following were sent by the county to that person but were returned by the U.S. Postal Service as being undeliverable: a vote-by-mail ballot, a notification regarding re-precincting, a jury duty notification, or the person's initial voter identification card.

Summary of Bill:  The county auditor may contract with the postal service or its licensee for use of postal change-of-address information.  If this information suggests that a voter has changed his or her residence address, the auditor must notify the voter concerning the laws governing voter registration and residence.  If this notification is returned to the auditor by the postal service as being undeliverable, the auditor must initiate cancellation procedures against that person's registration.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Sacramento County in California and Multnomah County in Oregon use postal service information to identify voters who may need to change their registrations.  These counties have found that the amount of mail returned as being undeliverable under their revised voter registration lists has dropped 10 percent.

Testimony Against:  None.

Witnesses:  Sam Reed, County Auditors Association (in favor); and Gary McIntosh, Office of the Secretary of State (in favor).