Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research	BILL ANALYSIS
State Government Committee

SB 5275

Brief Description:  Clarifying procedures for absentee voting and mail ballots.

Sponsors:  By Senators Gardner, McCaslin, Haugen, Costa and Kohl‑Welles.

Brief Summary of Bill

$Revises absentee voting and mail ballot laws and recodifies mail ballot laws into a new chapter of law.

$Allows mail ballots to be forwarded only if clear instructions are included explaining qualifications necessary to voter in an election along with a statement that a voter with questions about his or her eligibility should contact the county auditor.

$Clarifies that replacement absentee ballots may be issued.

$Requires mail ballots to be sent to all active registered voters, and either mail ballots or applications for mail ballots to be sent to all inactive registered voters, in a precinct that is newly designated as a vote-by-mail precinct.

$Expands the time when voters may request absentee ballots to include the period from 90 days before an election or primary to the day of the election or primary.

Hearing Date:  3/21/01

Staff:  Steve Lundin (786‑7127).

Background: 

Voters may vote using different procedures, including casting regular ballots at polling places, casting absentee ballots, or casting mail ballots.

A voter may obtain an absentee ballot for a single election or primary or may become an on‑going absentee voter and automatically receive an absentee ballot for all elections and primaries.

Absentee ballots returned to the county auditor may be processed beginning 10 days prior to the election or primary for which they are issued, which includes all the normal processing steps necessary to prepare the ballots for tabulation.   Absentee ballots may not be tabulated until after the close of the polls on the day of the or primary election.

Mail ballot voting is allowed as follows:

$A county auditor may designate vote‑by‑mail precincts where voting at every special election, primary, or general election is conducted using mail ballots.  A voting precinct may be designated as a vote‑by‑mail precinct if the precinct has 200 or fewer active registered voters who are not permanent absentee voters.

$A county auditor may conduct a mail ballot election where all active registered voters are sent mail ballots at either: (a) A special election if the local government requesting the special election requests a mail ballot election and the auditor consents to the request; or (b) a primary if the county auditor chooses to conduct the primary using mail ballots, the primary is held in an odd‑numbered year, and a partisan office, statewide office, or a statewide ballot proposition does not appear on the ballot.  Inactive registered voters are sent either a mail ballot or a card to request a mail ballot.

Mail ballots are generally processed in the same manner as absentee ballots.  However, mail ballots may not be forwarded.

The title of the bill is an act relating to ballots cast by mail.

Summary of Bill: 

A variety of changes are made for mail ballots and absentee ballots.  Statutes providing for mail ballots are codified in a chapter of law separate from the chapter of law providing for absentee ballots.  A number of other changes are made to election laws.

A. ABSENTEE BALLOTS.

1.  Requesting absentee ballots.

The period during which a voter may request an absentee ballot is expanded to include the period from 90 days before the election or primary to the day of the election or primary.  A request for an absentee ballot may be made electronically.

The special process for voters confined to a hospital to request absentee ballots on the day of the primary or election by messenger is expanded to include persons confined in a health care facility, and requirements are eliminated for verification of the status of the person requesting the ballot.

2.  Special absentee ballots.

Specific reasons for issuing a special absentee ballot for a specific election or primary are eliminated.  A voter requesting a special absentee ballot need only state that he or she will be unable to vote and return a regular absentee ballot by normal mail within the normal period.

3.  Ballots used to elect precinct committee officers.

Contested elections for the office of precinct committee officer that are considered at even‑numbered year general elections may be included on the regular absentee ballot in lieu of being included on a separate absentee ballot.

4.  Replacement absentee ballots.

A registered voter who is eligible to receive an absentee ballot may obtain a replacement ballot if the ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received.  The request may be made by telephone, mail, electronically, or in person.

5.  Forwarding absentee ballots.

County auditors are given express authority to choose whether or not the envelope containing an absentee ballot that is sent to an absentee voter may be forwarded.  If the envelope may be forwarded, clear instructions must be included explaining qualifications necessary to voter in an election along with a statement that a voter with questions about his or her eligibility should contact the county auditor.

6.  Processing absentee ballots.

County auditors must request major political parties to appoint observers who are to be present when absentee ballots are processed.  The absence of these observers shall not prevent the processing of absentee ballots if the county auditor has requested their presence.

The date on the return envelope where an out‑of‑state voter, overseas voter, or service voter attests to have voted determines the validity of the time of voting the absentee ballot.

7.   Reporting absentee ballot vote counts.

It is clarified that absentee ballot results must be reported at a minimum on a congressional and legislative district basis, in addition to being included to the total votes cast at polling places.

8.  Other matters.

Challenged absentee ballots are handled in the same manner as other challenged ballots.  The report each county auditor must make to the secretary of state on the number of absentee ballots cast in each precinct for or against each state measure, and for each candidate for state and federal office, at a general election may be submitted at any date rather than by no later than March 31 of the year after the election.

B. MAIL BALLOT ELECTIONS.

1.  Vote‑by‑mail precincts.

The initial distribution of mail ballots in a newly established vote‑by‑mail precinct is altered.  Notice that a precinct has been converted to a vote‑by‑mail precinct must be mailed to each registered voter in the precinct.  At the first election or primary after a precinct has been designated a vote‑by‑mail precinct, the county auditor mails a mail ballot to each active registered voter in the precinct and either a mail ballot or a request for a mail ballot to each inactive registered voter in the precinct.  Express authorization is made for a vote‑by‑mail precinct to be converted back a poll place voting precinct, with notice of the conversion being mailed to each registered voter in the precinct.

2.  Mail ballots in general.

Mail ballots are generally treated in the same manner as absentee ballots.

Replacement mail ballots requested in person or by mail, telephone, or other electronic means.  A replacement mail ballot is only counted in the final tabulations if the original ballot is not returned and the replacement ballot meets all requirements for a regular mail ballot to be tabulated.

C. OTHER CHANGES TO ELECTION LAWS.

General election returns shall be reported on an individual precinct basis even if the county auditor combined precincts for election purposes.  County auditors prepare abstracts, rather than reports, of general election results on state measures and federal and state offices.  Abstracts must be transmitted to the secretary of state by no later than the next business day following certification of the results by the county canvassing board, rather than by no later than March 31 of the year following the election.

Rulemaking Authority:  Absentee ballots are to be processed in the manner provided by rules adopted by the secretary of state.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not Requested.

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