BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to periodically maintaining voter registration lists; amending RCW 29.10.090 and 29.10.180; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 29.10.090 and 1994 c 57 s 41 are each amended to read as follows:

((The local registrar of vital statistics in cities of the first class shall submit monthly to the county auditor a list of the names and addresses, if known, of all persons over eighteen years of age who have died.))

Every month, the registrar of vital statistics of the state shall prepare a separate list of persons who resided in each county, for whom a death certificate was transmitted to the registrar and was not included on a previous list, and shall supply ((~~such monthly lists for each county of the state, exclusive of cities of the first class,~~)) the appropriate list to the county auditor ((~~thereof~~)) of each county.

The county auditors shall compare such lists with the registration records and cancel the registrations of deceased voters. The county auditor may also use newspaper obituary articles as a source of information in order to cancel a voter's registration. The auditor must verify the identity of the voter by matching the voter's date of birth or an address. The auditor shall record the date and source of the obituary in the cancellation records.

In addition to the above manner of canceling registration records of deceased voters, any registered voter may sign a statement, subject to the penalties of perjury, to the effect that to his or her personal knowledge or belief another registered voter is deceased. This statement may be filed with the county auditor. Upon the receipt of such signed statement, the county auditor shall cancel the registration records concerned and so notify the secretary of state. Upon receipt of such notice, the secretary of state shall in turn cancel his or her copy of said registration record.

The secretary of state as chief elections officer shall cause such form to be designed to carry out the provisions of this section. The county auditors shall have such forms available for public use. Further, each such public officer having jurisdiction of an election shall make available a reasonable supply of such forms for the use of the precinct election officers at each polling place on the day of an election.

Sec. 2. RCW 29.10.180 and 1994 c 57 s 44 are each amended to read as follows:

In addition to the case-by-case maintenance required under RCW 29.10.071 and 29.10.075 and the canceling registrations under RCW 29.10.090, the county auditor shall establish a general program of voter registration list maintenance that is periodically performed. This program must be applied uniformly throughout the county and must be nondiscriminatory in its application. Any program established must be completed not later than ninety days before the date of a primary or general election for federal office. The county may fulfill its obligations under this section in one of the following ways:

(1) The county auditor may enter into one or more contracts with the United States postal service, or its licensee, which permit the auditor to use postal service change-of-address information. If the auditor receives change of address information from the United States postal service that indicates that a voter has changed his or her residence address within the county, the auditor shall transfer the registration of that voter and send an acknowledgement notice of the transfer to the new address. If the auditor receives postal change of address information indicating that the voter has moved out of the county, the auditor shall send a confirmation notice to the voter, send the voter a registration-by-mail form at the voter's new address, and advise the voter of the need to reregister in the new county. The auditor shall place the voter's registration on inactive status;

(2) A direct, nonforwardable, first-class, return if undeliverable, address correction requested, mailing to every registered voter within the county. If address correction information for a voter is received by the county auditor after this mailing, the auditor shall place that voter on inactive status and shall send to the voter a confirmation notice;

(3) Any other method approved by the secretary of state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. On or before May 1,2000, each county auditor shall perform a thorough review of the county's voter registration list as part of its periodic maintenance of this list under the provisions of RCW 29.10.180.