1005

AN ACT Relating to political party declaration in a presidential preference primary; and amending RCW 29.18.200, 29.19.030, 29.19.040, 29.19.050, and 29.19.060.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 29.18.200 and 1990 c 59 s 88 are each amended to read as follows:

((~~Except as provided otherwise in chapter 29.19 RCW,~~)) All properly registered voters may vote for their choice at any primary held under this title, for any candidate for each office, regardless of political affiliation and without a declaration of political faith or adherence on the part of the voter.

Sec. 2. RCW 29.19.030 and 1989 c 4 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The name of any candidate for a major political party nomination for president of the United States shall be printed on the presidential preference primary ballot ((~~of a major political party~~)) only:

(1) By direction of the secretary of state, who in the secretary's sole discretion has determined that the candidate's candidacy is generally advocated or is recognized in national news media; or

(2) If members of the political party of the candidate have presented a petition for nomination of the candidate that has attached to the petition a sheet or sheets containing the signatures of at least one thousand registered voters who declare themselves in the petition as being affiliated with the same political party as the presidential candidate. The petition shall be filed with the secretary of state not later than the thirty-ninth day before the presidential preference primary. The signature sheets shall also contain the residence address and name or number of the precinct of each registered voter whose signature appears thereon and shall be certified in the manner prescribed in RCW 29.79.200 and 29.79.210.

The secretary of state shall place the name of the candidate on the ballot unless the candidate, at least thirty-five days before the presidential preference primary, executes and files with the secretary of state an affidavit stating without qualification that he or she is not now and will not become a candidate for the office of president of the United States at the forthcoming presidential election. The secretary of state shall certify the names of all candidates who will appear on the presidential preference primary ballot to the respective county auditors on or before the fourth Tuesday in April of each presidential election year.

Sec. 3. RCW 29.19.040 and 1989 c 4 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

The arrangement and form of the presidential primary ballot((s)) shall be substantially as provided for any primary election within the state except as may be modified by this chapter or by rule of the secretary of state as provided for in RCW 29.19.070 to adequately reflect the intent of this chapter.

((~~A separate ballot shall be prepared for each major political party that has candidates whose names have been authorized for placement on presidential preference primary ballots under RCW 29.19.030.~~)) The names of all candidates for a party's nomination for the office of president shall be listed alphabetically in a column on ((~~that party's~~)) the ballot. There shall be a printed box adjacent to the name of each candidate. A blank space to allow the voter to write in the name of another candidate shall also be included on each ballot.

The ballot, in providing for a choice of candidates for the office of president, shall set forth only those candidates, with their political party affiliation, who have qualified for a place on the ballot under RCW 29.19.030.

Sec. 4. RCW 29.19.050 and 1989 c 4 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

Insofar as is practicable, and where the provisions of this chapter do not specifically indicate otherwise, the presidential preference primary shall be conducted in the same manner as a state partisan primary, including the certification of the election returns by the secretary of state. The requirement of rotation of names on the ballot does not apply to the candidates listed on the presidential preference primary ballot. County auditors may combine and consolidate two or more precincts for the purpose of conducting the presidential preference primary only if precinct vote totals for the primary can still be made available and the consolidation does not require a voter to go to a location different from that of the last regular election.

((Each person desiring to vote in the presidential preference primary shall receive a ballot request form on which the voter shall sign his or her name and address and declare the party primary in which he or she wishes to participate.

~~The secretary shall prescribe rules for providing each party central committee a list of the voters who participated in the presidential primary of that party.~~

The signed ballot request forms shall be maintained in the centralized containers by the county auditor for a period of time as specified by rule of the secretary of state, after which time they shall be destroyed, unless otherwise directed by federal law.))

At a presidential preference primary, a voter may cast no more than one vote on a ballot. Any presidential preference primary ballot with more than one vote is void, and notice to this effect, couched in clear, simple language, and printed in large type, shall appear on the face of each presidential preference primary ballot. Where voting machines or electronic voting devices are in use, the notice shall be displayed on or about each machine or device.

Sec. 5. RCW 29.19.060 and 1989 c 4 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The results of the presidential preference primary shall determine the percentage of delegate positions to be allocated to each presidential candidate. Selection of individuals to delegate positions shall be in compliance with applicable state party rules, and to the extent practicable, delegates shall be apportioned among the state's congressional districts. Delegate positions shall be allocated to presidential candidates in the manner specified in subsection (3) of this section except as otherwise provided by national party rules.

(2) All votes cast for a particular presidential candidate ((~~in a party's primary~~)) shall be considered votes for delegate positions committed to that candidate.

Each candidate for a delegate position who is committed to a particular presidential candidate, before the selection of delegates, shall sign and submit to the appropriate party's state committee the following pledge:

Delegate Pledge

I, . . . . . ., do hereby swear that I am a supporter of . . . . . . for the office of President of the United States; and that if elected as a delegate to the . . . . . . Party National Convention I pledge to cast my ballot as a delegate to the convention for that candidate on the first two ballots unless released by the candidate, and I pledge furthermore to do all that I can to advance the cause of that candidate at the national convention.

(3) Except as otherwise provided by national party rules, delegate positions shall be allocated from the state at-large among presidential candidates who receive at least fifteen percent of the total votes cast for candidates of the same political party, or such other percentage as national party rules may provide. Each candidate so qualified shall be allocated a percentage of delegate positions equal to as nearly as practicable that candidate's percentage of the total votes cast for candidates of the same political party in the presidential preference primary. The votes of candidates who do not receive at least fifteen percent of the total votes cast for candidates of the same political party in ((~~their parties'~~)) the presidential preference primary shall be proportionately allocated to those candidates who did receive fifteen percent or more of the total votes cast for candidates of the same political party in ((~~their parties'~~)) the presidential preference primary.

(4) If any presidential candidate, at any time after the presidential preference primary, formally releases the delegates holding positions committed to him or her under the formula established by subsection (3) of this section, the delegates shall be considered uncommitted. The delegates holding positions committed to a candidate shall be considered formally released when the candidate so notifies, in writing, the chair of his or her party's delegation.

(5) In the event of the death of a candidate to whom delegate positions have been committed, all such positions shall be considered uncommitted.

(6) If no ballot choice ((on)) of a political party ((~~ballot~~)) receives fifteen percent or more of the total votes cast for candidates of the same political party, the state committee of the political party shall determine how delegate positions allotted to the state by the national committee shall be committed.

(7) If a vacancy occurs in the position of delegate, the remaining delegates committed to the same preference as the vacating person shall name a person to fill the vacancy.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.