READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to bilingual voting assistance; amending RCW 29A.44.410; reenacting and amending RCW 29A.44.240; creating new sections; and providing expiration dates.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The purpose of this act is to create a task force to effectuate the legislature's intent to enact section 203 of the voting rights act.
     This section expires January 31, 2007.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) A joint select legislative task force on increasing voter participation for single-language minority groups is established, with members as provided in this subsection.
     (a) The president of the senate shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate.
     (b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives.
     (c) The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives jointly shall appoint members from each of the following groups:
     (i) Two members representing county auditors or election directors in counties that are required to provide election materials in a language other than English. One of these members shall be from a county required to provide election materials in Chinese, and one shall be from a county required to provide election materials in Spanish;
     (ii) Four representatives from bilingual communities;
     (iii) Two representatives from an organization with expertise with section 203 of the voting rights act;
     (iv) One representative of an organization that has expertise in civil liberties.
     (d) The office of the secretary of state shall cooperate with the task force and maintain a liaison representative, who shall be a nonvoting member. The office shall cooperate with the task force and provide information as the cochairs may reasonably request.
     (e) Appointments under this subsection must be made within thirty days of the effective date of this section.
     (f) The task force shall choose its cochairs from among its legislative membership.
     (2) The task force shall:
     (a) Make recommendations on implementing the requirements of section 203 of the voting rights act within the state;
     (b) Identify ways to increase voter participation by single-language minority groups who do not speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process;
     (c) Recommend parameters for providing languages other than English on voting and election materials; and
     (d) Make other recommendations as necessary.
     (3) Staff support for the task force shall be provided by the senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research.
     (4) Legislative members of the task force shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members, except those representing an employer or organization, are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (5) The expenses of the task force shall be paid jointly by the senate and the house of representatives. Task force expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.
     (6) The task force shall report its findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to the appropriate committees of the legislature by January 2007.
     (7) This section expires January 31, 2007.

Sec. 3   RCW 29A.44.240 and 2003 c 111 s 1123 and 2003 c 53 s 180 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Voting shall be secret except to the extent necessary to assist sensory or physically disabled voters, or voters who require language interpretation.
     (2) If any voter declares in the presence of the election officers that because of sensory or physical disability he or she is unable to register or record his or her vote, he or she may designate a person of his or her choice or two election officers from opposite political parties to enter the voting machine booth with him or her and record his or her vote as he or she directs.
     (3) Any voter who requires interpretation assistance may designate a person of his or her choice to enter the voting machine booth with him or her to provide language interpretation and to assist the voter in recording his or her vote. A person who assists with language interpretation under this subsection may not be the voter's employer or be associated with the voter's union.
     (4) A person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Sec. 4   RCW 29A.44.410 and 2003 c 111 s 1134 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) At least ten days prior to any primary or election, general or special, the county auditor shall appoint one inspector and two judges of election for each precinct (or each combination of precincts temporarily consolidated as a single precinct for that primary or election), other than those precincts designated as vote-by-mail precincts pursuant to RCW 29A.48.010. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the persons appointed shall be among those whose names are contained on the lists furnished under RCW 29A.44.430 by the chairpersons of the county central committees of the political parties entitled to representation thereon. Such precinct election officers, whenever possible, should be residents of the precinct in which they serve.
     (2) The county auditor may delete from the lists of names submitted to the auditor by the chairpersons of the county central committees under RCW 29A.44.430: (a) The names of those persons who indicate to the auditor that they cannot or do not wish to serve as precinct election officers for the primary or election or who otherwise cannot so serve; and (b) the names of those persons who lack the ability to conduct properly the duties of an inspector or judge of election after training in that proper conduct has been made available to them by the auditor. The lists which are submitted to the auditor in a timely manner under RCW 29A.44.430, less the deletions authorized by this subsection, constitute the official nomination lists for inspectors and judges of election.
     (3) If the number of persons whose names are on the official nomination list for a political party is not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of subsection (4) of this section as it applies to that political party or is otherwise insufficient to provide the number of precinct election officials required from that political party, the auditor shall notify the chair of the party's county central committee regarding the deficiency. The chair may, within five business days of being notified by the auditor, add to the party's nomination list the names of additional persons belonging to that political party who are qualified to serve on the election boards. To the extent that, following this procedure, the number of persons whose names appear on the official nomination lists of the political parties is insufficient to provide the number of election inspectors and judges required for a primary or election, the auditor may appoint a properly trained person whose name does not appear on such a list as an inspector or judge of election for a precinct. The auditor must make reasonable efforts to appoint staff and poll workers who are bilingual. Available bilingual poll workers must be assigned to poll sites based on the language spoken by the poll worker and the population speaking that language in the county.
     (4) The county auditor shall designate the inspector and one judge in each precinct from that political party which polled the highest number of votes in the county for its candidate for president at the last preceding presidential election and one judge from that political party polling the next highest number of votes in the county for its candidate for president at the same election. The provisions of this subsection apply only if the number of names on the official nomination list for inspectors and judges of election for a political party is sufficient to satisfy the requirements imposed by this subsection.
     (5) Except as provided in RCW 29A.44.440 for the filling of vacancies, this shall be the exclusive method for the appointment of inspectors and judges to serve as precinct election officers at any primary or election, general or special, and shall supersede the provisions of any and all other statutes, whether general or special in nature, having different requirements.