Brief Description: Requiring the secretary of state to prepare a manual of election laws and rules.

Sponsors: Senators Schmidt, Kastama, Weinstein, Roach, Shin, Rockefeller, Oke and Kohl-Welles.

Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections
House Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability

Background: The vote-counting center is the facility designated by the county auditor to count and canvass mail ballots, absentee ballots and polling place ballots that are transferred to a central site to be counted, rather than being counted by a poll-site ballot counting device, on the day of a primary or election.

Observers from each major political party, if they have been appointed by their parties, and members of the public, observe the counting of voted ballots by the county auditor at the counting centers. Only those persons employed and authorized by the county auditor may touch the ballots, ballot containers, or operate vote tallying equipment.

Canvassing is done by the county canvassing board. This board is chaired by the county auditor and includes the county prosecutor, and the chair of the county legislative authority, or their designees. The board must adopt administrative rules to facilitate and govern the canvassing process in its jurisdiction. These rules must be adopted in a public meeting and be available to the public for review and copying.

Recounts are performed by the canvassing board, the only persons who may handle the ballots, and observed by all witnesses in attendance.

The Secretary of State is the chief election officer for all federal, state, county, city, town, and district elections.

Summary: The Secretary of State must prepare a manual for use during vote counting, recounting, tabulation, and canvassing. The manual must be in easy-to-understand, plain language and available in all vote-counting centers in the state.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      38   10
House      96   0

Effective: July 24, 2005