BILL REQ. #:  H-3982.1 

Read first time 01/20/2004.   Referred to Committee on State Government.

     AN ACT Relating to voter registration procedures; amending RCW 29A.08.145, 29A.08.210, 29A.08.430, and 29A.84.130; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 29A.08.145 and 2003 c 111 s 213 are each amended to read as follows:
     This section establishes a special procedure which an elector may use to register to vote or transfer his or her voter registration address during the period beginning after the closing of registration for voting at the polls under RCW 29A.08.140 and ending ((on the fifteenth day before a)) the day of the primary, special election, or general election. A qualified elector in the ((county)) state may register to vote or change his or her registration address in person in the office of the county auditor ((or at a voter registration location specifically designated for this purpose by the county auditor of the county in which the applicant resides)), and apply for an absentee ballot for that primary or election. The auditor ((or registration assistant)) shall register that individual in the manner provided in this chapter. The application for an absentee ballot executed by the newly registered voter for the primary or election that follows the execution of the registration shall be promptly transmitted to the auditor with the completed voter registration form.

Sec. 2   RCW 29A.08.210 and 2003 c 111 s 216 are each amended to read as follows:
     An applicant for voter registration shall complete an application providing the following information concerning his or her qualifications as a voter in this state:
     (1) The address of the last former registration of the applicant as a voter in the state;
     (2) The applicant's full name;
     (3) The applicant's date of birth;
     (4) The address of the applicant's residence for voting purposes;
     (5) The mailing address of the applicant if that address is not the same as the address in subsection (4) of this section;
     (6) The sex of the applicant;
     (7) A declaration that the applicant is a citizen of the United States;
     (8) The applicant's signature; and
     (9) Any other information that the secretary of state determines is necessary to establish the identity of the applicant and prevent duplicate or fraudulent voter registrations.
     This information shall be recorded on a single registration form to be prescribed by the secretary of state.
     If the applicant fails to provide the information required for voter registration, the auditor shall send the applicant a verification notice. The auditor shall not register the applicant until the required information is provided. If a verification notice is returned as undeliverable or the applicant fails to respond to the notice within forty-five days, the auditor shall not register the applicant to vote.
     The following warning shall appear in a conspicuous place on the voter registration form:

     "If you knowingly provide false information on this voter registration form or knowingly make a false declaration about your qualifications for voter registration you will have committed a class ((C)) A felony that is punishable by imprisonment for ((up to five years)) life, or by a fine of up to ((ten)) fifty thousand dollars, or both imprisonment and fine."

Sec. 3   RCW 29A.08.430 and 2003 c 111 s 230 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A person who is registered to vote in this state may transfer his or her voter registration on the day of a special, primary, or general election ((or primary)) for purposes of voting in a future special, primary, or general election under the following procedures:
     (a) The voter may complete, at the polling place, a registration transfer form designed by the secretary of state and supplied by the county auditor; or
     (b) The voter may write in his or her new residential address in the precinct list of registered voters.
     The county auditor shall determine which of these two procedures are to be used in the county or may determine that both procedures are to be available to voters for use in the county.
     (2) A ((voter who transfers his or her registration in the manner authorized by this section shall vote in the precinct in which he or she was previously registered)) person who is registered to vote in this state may transfer his or her voter registration on the day of a special, primary, or general election for purposes of voting in the current special, primary, or general election under the procedures provided in RCW 29A.08.145.
     (3) The auditor shall, within ninety days, mail to each voter who has transferred a registration under this section a notice of his or her current precinct and polling place.

Sec. 4   RCW 29A.84.130 and 2003 c 111 s 2107 are each amended to read as follows:
     Any person who:
     (1) Knowingly provides false information on an application for voter registration under any provision of this title;
     (2) Knowingly makes or attests to a false declaration as to his or her qualifications as a voter;
     (3) Knowingly causes or permits himself or herself to be registered using the name of another person;
     (4) Knowingly causes himself or herself to be registered under two or more different names;
     (5) Knowingly causes himself or herself to be registered in two or more counties;
     (6) Offers to pay another person to assist in registering voters, where payment is based on a fixed amount of money per voter registration;
     (7) Accepts payment for assisting in registering voters, where payment is based on a fixed amount of money per voter registration; or
     (8) Knowingly causes any person to be registered or causes any registration to be transferred or canceled except as authorized under this title,
is guilty of a class ((C)) A felony punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.