H-3421.1          _______________________________________________

                                  HOUSE BILL 2162

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              54th Legislature             1996 Regular Session

By Representatives Benton, Kremen, Carlson, Wolfe, Koster, Tokuda, Campbell, Morris, Smith, D. Schmidt, Lambert, Blanton, Elliot, Buck, Mulliken, Goldsmith, Pelesky and Thompson

Read first time 01/08/96.  Referred to Committee on Government Operations.

Revising the method for determining the order of names on election ballots.

     AN ACT Relating to the rotation of names on primary and general election ballots; amending RCW 29.30.025 and 29.30.081; and repealing RCW 29.30.040.

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

     Sec. 1.  RCW 29.30.025 and 1990 c 59 s 80 are each amended to read as follows:

     After the close of business on the last day for candidates to ((file for office)) withdraw, the ((filing officer)) county auditor of each county shall((, from among those filings made in person and by mail,)) determine by lot the single order in which the names of ((those)) candidates will appear on all ((sample and absentee)) ballots for any partisan or nonpartisan office that will be voted upon by voters in the county at the primary.  ((In the case of candidates for city, town, and district office, this procedure shall also determine the order for candidate names on the official primary ballot used at the polling place.  The determination shall be done publicly and may be witnessed by the media and by any candidate.))  After the primary, or if no primary is required for any nonpartisan office under RCW 29.15.150 or 29.21.015, the county auditor of each county shall determine by lot the single order in which the names ((shall)) of nominees or candidates will appear on all ballots for any partisan or nonpartisan office that will be voted upon by the voters in that county at the general election ((ballot in the order determined by lot)).

A determination by lot under this section shall be done publicly and may be witnessed by the media and by any candidate or nominee for the office, or a representative of the candidate or nominee.

     Sec. 2.  RCW 29.30.081 and 1990 c 59 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:

     (1) On the top of each ballot there shall be printed instructions directing the voters how to mark the ballot, including write-in votes.  After the instructions and before the offices shall be placed the questions of adopting constitutional amendments or any other state measure authorized by law to be submitted to the voters at that election.

     (2) ((The candidate or candidates of the major political party which received the highest number of votes from the electors of this state for the office of president of the United States at the last presidential election shall appear first following the appropriate office heading, the candidate or candidates of the other major political parties shall follow according to the votes cast for their nominees for president at the last presidential election, and independent candidates and the candidate or candidates of all other parties shall follow in the order of their qualification with the secretary of state.

     (3))) The names of candidates for president and vice-president for each political party shall be grouped together with a single response position for a voter to indicate his or her choice.

     (((4))) (3) All paper ballots and ballot cards shall be sequentially numbered in such a way to permit removal of such numbers without leaving any identifying marks on the ballot.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  RCW 29.30.040 and 1990 c 59 s 94, 1977 ex.s. c 361 s 54, & 1965 c 9 s 29.30.040 are each repealed.

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