Title: An act relating to absentee or provisional ballot notice requirements.

Brief Description: Modifying absentee or provisional ballot notice requirements.

Sponsors: Representatives Haigh, Sump and McDermott.

Brief History:

State Government Operations & Accountability: 1/18/06, 1/27/06 [DPS].

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ACCOUNTABILITY

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 7 members: Representatives Haigh, Chair; Green, Vice Chair; Nixon, Ranking Minority Member; Clements, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Miloscia, Schindler and Sump.

Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 2 members: Representatives Hunt and McDermott.

Staff: Marsha Reilly (786-7135).

Background:

If a voter neglects to sign the absentee or provisional ballot envelope, the county auditor must notify the voter by telephone of the procedure for correcting the ballot. If the auditor is not able to personally talk with the voter by telephone, the voter must be contacted by first-class mail. A voice mail message is not considered as personally contacting the voter. In order for the ballot to be counted when a signature is missing, the voter must appear in person and sign the envelope, or sign and return a copy of the envelope provided by the auditor. If the signature does not match, the voter must return a signed affidavit. If that signature also does not match the signature on file, the voter is required to appear in person and sign a new voter registration form.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

The county auditor must notify a voter by first-class mail in the event that the voter fails to sign the outside envelope of the absentee or provisional ballot, or if the voter's signature does not match the signature on file in the voter registration file. If a ballot needing correction is received within three business days of the final meeting of the canvassing board, the auditor must attempt to notify the voter by telephone and send a notice by first-class mail.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The original bill required the county auditor to notify a voter by telephone for missing or mismatched signatures if the ballot is received within 48 hours of the final meeting of the canvassing board. The notification provision was changed in the substitute bill to within three business days of the final meeting of the canvassing board, and that notification be made by telephone and by first-class mail. The original bill required a voter to sign and return a copy of the affidavit provided by the auditor in cases where the signature did not match. That provision was removed in the substitute bill.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: The county auditors want to go back to notifying voters by first-class mail when signatures are missing or do not match the signatures on file. The change, enacted last year, has proven to be costly in terms of staffing. The last election cost King County about $65,000 in phone staffing, and that cost will likely go up to twice that amount in the next election. It is difficult to contact voters by telephone during the day, and it has been found that the response through the mail results in more response. In rural counties, such as Island County, it is difficult for a person to show up in person to affirm a new registration when signatures do not match.

Testimony Against: None.

Persons Testifying: Kim Wyman, Washington Association of Auditors; and Suzanne Sinclair, Washington State Association of County Auditors.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.