FINAL BILL REPORT

SSB 5218

C 162 L 03

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Requiring timely mailing of ballots.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections (originally sponsored by Senators Roach, Kastama, Schmidt, Fairley, Stevens, Reardon, Horn, Benton, Keiser, Johnson, Kohl-Welles, Kline and Esser; by request of Secretary of State).

Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections

House Committee on State Government

Background: There are two types of voting where the voter mails his or her ballot back to the county auditor for processing and tallying. The first type is absentee voting. Increasingly, voters are choosing to cast their ballots using absentee ballots. A voter may obtain an absentee ballot for a single primary or election or may become an ongoing absentee voter and automatically obtain an absentee ballot for each subsequent primary or election. County auditors are required to have sufficient absentee ballots ready to mail to absentee voters at least 20 days before any primary, general election, or special election.

The second type of voting by mail is called election by mail ballot. A county auditor may designate any precinct having fewer than 200 active registered voters at the time of closing of voter registration as a mail ballot precinct. The county auditor is required to mail or deliver a ballot and an envelope to each active registered voter as soon as ballots are available.

Some special elections may be conducted by mail ballot if doing so is approved by the county auditor. The county auditor is required to make a mail ballot available to each registered voter 20 days before the date of the election.

Summary: Enough absentee ballots must be available for absentee voters at least 20 days before any primary or election. If a request for an absentee ballot has been received at least 19 days before the primary or election, the county auditor must mail the absentee ballot at least 18 days before the primary or election. For requests received after the 19th day before the election, the auditor must make every effort to mail the absentee ballot within one business day and shall mail the ballot within two business days.

A procedure is established for the county auditor to certify his or her compliance with these requirements to the Secretary of State.

For mail ballot elections, the auditor must mail all active voters a ballot at least 18 days before the primary or election. For inactive voters, the mailing must occur at least 19 days before the primary or election.

In all cases, the county auditor must make every effort to mail ballots to overseas and service voters earlier than 18 days before the primary or election.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate       46  3

House       95  0    (House amended)

Senate       42  0    (Senate concurred)

Effective: July 27, 2003