READ FIRST TIME 03/07/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to mail ballot elections; amending RCW 29A.48.010; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 29A.48.010 and 2004 c 266 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) With express authorization from the county legislative authority, the county auditor may conduct all primary, special, and general elections entirely by mail ballot. The county legislative authority must give the county auditor at least ninety days' notice before the first election to be conducted entirely by mail ballot. If the county legislative authority and the county auditor decide to return to a polling place election environment, the county legislative authority must give the county auditor at least one hundred eighty days' notice before the first election to be conducted using polling places. Authorization under this subsection must apply to all primary, special, and general elections conducted by the county auditor.
     (2) The county auditor may designate any precinct having fewer than two hundred active registered voters at the time of closing of voter registration as provided in RCW 29A.08.140 as a mail ballot precinct. ((The county auditor shall notify each registered voter by mail that for all future primaries and elections the voting in his or her precinct will be by mail ballot only.)) Authorization from the county legislative authority is not required to designate a precinct as a mail ballot precinct under this subsection. In determining the number of registered voters in a precinct for the purposes of this section, persons who are ongoing absentee voters under RCW 29A.40.040 shall not be counted. Nothing in this section may be construed as altering the vote tallying requirements of RCW 29A.60.230.
     (3) The county auditor shall notify each registered voter by mail that for all future primaries and elections the voting will be by mail ballot only. The auditor shall mail each active voter a ballot at least eighteen days before a primary, general election, or special election. The auditor shall send each inactive voter either a ballot or an application to receive a ballot at least eighteen days before a primary, general election, or special election. The auditor shall determine which of the two is to be sent. If the inactive voter returns a voted ballot, the ballot shall be counted and the voter's status restored to active. If the inactive voter completes and returns an application, a ballot shall be sent and the voter's status restored to active. The requirements regarding certification, reporting, and the mailing of overseas and military ballots in RCW ((29.36.270)) 29A.40.070 apply to elections conducted by mail ballot ((precincts)).
     (4) If the ((precinct exceeds two hundred registered voters, or the)) county legislative authority and county auditor determine under subsection (1) of this section, or if the county auditor determines under subsection (2) of this section, to return to a polling place election environment, the auditor shall notify each registered voter, by mail, of this and shall provide the address of the polling place to be used.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The secretary of state shall evaluate available technologies to allow voters the ability to conveniently determine if their mail ballots were received and counted by their county auditor. No later than December 31, 2006, the secretary of state shall submit a report to the legislature outlining available mail ballot tracking technology. The report must include the secretary of state's recommendations on whether such technology should be implemented, and if so, how.