HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1554

             As Reported By House Committee on:

                      State Government

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.

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 Amended 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.

Amended Bill Compared to Original Bill:  The amendment identifies the nature of the notice which is to be sent to a voter in response to postal service information.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date of Amended Bill:  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).