READ FIRST TIME 01/31/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to voting equipment; amending RCW 29A.04.611, 29A.12.080, 29A.12.101, 29A.40.110, 29A.46.020, and 29A.46.110; and adding a new section to chapter 29A.46 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 29A.04.611 and 2004 c 271 s 151 are each amended to read as follows:
     The secretary of state as chief election officer shall make reasonable rules in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW not inconsistent with the federal and state election laws to effectuate any provision of this title and to facilitate the execution of its provisions in an orderly, timely, and uniform manner relating to any federal, state, county, city, town, and district elections. To that end the secretary shall assist local election officers by devising uniform forms and procedures.
     In addition to the rule-making authority granted otherwise by this section, the secretary of state shall make rules governing the following provisions:
     (1) The maintenance of voter registration records;
     (2) The preparation, maintenance, distribution, review, and filing of precinct maps;
     (3) Standards for the design, layout, and production of ballots;
     (4) The examination and testing of voting systems for certification;
     (5) The source and scope of independent evaluations of voting systems that may be relied upon in certifying voting systems for use in this state;
     (6) Standards and procedures for the acceptance testing of voting systems by counties;
     (7) Standards and procedures for testing the programming of vote tallying software for specific primaries and elections;
     (8) Standards and procedures for the preparation and use of each type of certified voting system including procedures for the operation of counting centers where vote tallying systems are used;
     (9) Standards and procedures to ensure the accurate tabulation and canvassing of ballots;
     (10) Consistency among the counties of the state in the preparation of ballots, the operation of vote tallying systems, and the canvassing of primaries and elections;
     (11) Procedures to ensure the secrecy of a voter's ballot when a small number of ballots are counted at the polls or at a counting center;
     (12) The use of substitute devices or means of voting when a voting device at the polling place is found to be defective, the counting of votes cast on the defective device, the counting of votes cast on the substitute device, and the documentation that must be submitted to the county auditor regarding such circumstances;
     (13) Procedures for the transportation of sealed containers of voted ballots or sealed voting devices;
     (14) The acceptance and filing of documents via electronic facsimile;
     (15) Voter registration applications and records;
     (16) The use of voter registration information in the conduct of elections;
     (17) The coordination, delivery, and processing of voter registration records accepted by driver licensing agents or the department of licensing;
     (18) The coordination, delivery, and processing of voter registration records accepted by agencies designated by the governor to provide voter registration services;
     (19) Procedures to receive and distribute voter registration applications by mail;
     (20) Procedures for a voter to change his or her voter registration address within a county by telephone;
     (21) Procedures for a voter to change the name under which he or she is registered to vote;
     (22) Procedures for canceling dual voter registration records and for maintaining records of persons whose voter registrations have been canceled;
     (23) Procedures for the electronic transfer of voter registration records between county auditors and the office of the secretary of state;
     (24) Procedures and forms for declarations of candidacy;
     (25) Procedures and requirements for the acceptance and filing of declarations of candidacy by electronic means;
     (26) Procedures for the circumstance in which two or more candidates have a name similar in sound or spelling so as to cause confusion for the voter;
     (27) Filing for office;
     (28) The order of positions and offices on a ballot;
     (29) Sample ballots;
     (30) Independent evaluations of voting systems;
     (31) The testing, approval, and certification of voting systems;
     (32) The testing of vote tallying software programming;
     (33) Standards and procedures to prevent fraud and to facilitate the accurate processing and canvassing of absentee ballots and mail ballots, including standards for the approval and implementation of hardware and software for automated signature verification systems;
     (34) Standards and procedures to guarantee the secrecy of absentee ballots and mail ballots;
     (35) Uniformity among the counties of the state in the conduct of absentee voting and mail ballot elections;
     (36) Standards and procedures to accommodate out-of-state voters, overseas voters, and service voters;
     (37) The tabulation of paper ballots before the close of the polls;
     (38) The accessibility of polling places and registration facilities that are accessible to elderly and disabled persons;
     (39) The aggregation of precinct results if reporting the results of a single precinct could jeopardize the secrecy of a person's ballot;
     (40) Procedures for conducting a statutory recount;
     (41) Procedures for filling vacancies in congressional offices if the general statutory time requirements for availability of absentee ballots, certification, canvassing, and related procedures cannot be met;
     (42) Procedures for the statistical sampling of signatures for purposes of verifying and canvassing signatures on initiative, referendum, and recall election petitions;
     (43) Standards and deadlines for submitting material to the office of the secretary of state for the voters' pamphlet;
     (44) Deadlines for the filing of ballot titles for referendum bills and constitutional amendments if none have been provided by the legislature;
     (45) Procedures for the publication of a state voters' pamphlet;
     (46) Procedures for conducting special elections regarding nuclear waste sites if the general statutory time requirements for availability of absentee ballots, certification, canvassing, and related procedures cannot be met;
     (47) Procedures for conducting partisan primary elections;
     (48) Standards and procedures for the proper conduct of voting during the early voting period to provide accessability for the blind or visually impaired;
     (49) Standards for voting technology and systems used by the state or any political subdivision to be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and independence, as other voters;
     (50) All data formats for transferring voter registration data on electronic or machine-readable media for the purpose of administering the statewide voter registration list required by the Help America Vote Act (P.L. 107-252);
     (51) Defining the interaction of electronic voter registration election management systems employed by each county auditor to maintain a local copy of each county's portion of the official state list of registered voters;
     (52) Provisions and procedures to implement the state-based administrative complaint procedure as required by the Help America Vote Act (P.L. 107-252); and
     (53) Facilitating the payment of local government grants to local government election officers or vendors.

Sec. 2   RCW 29A.12.080 and 2003 c 111 s 308 are each amended to read as follows:
     No voting device shall be approved by the secretary of state unless it:
     (1) Secures to the voter secrecy in the act of voting;
     (2) Permits the voter to vote for any person for any office and upon any measure that he or she has the right to vote for;
     (3) Permits the voter to vote for all the candidates of one party ((or in part for the candidates of one or more other parties));
     (4) Correctly registers all votes cast for any and all persons and for or against any and all measures;
     (5) Provides that a vote for more than one candidate cannot be cast by one single operation of the voting device or vote tally system except when voting for president and vice president of the United States; and
     (6) Except for functions or capabilities unique to this state, has been tested((,)) and certified((, and used in at least one other state or election jurisdiction)) by an independent testing authority designated by the United States election assistance commission.

Sec. 3   RCW 29A.12.101 and 2004 c 271 s 109 are each amended to read as follows:
     The secretary of state shall not approve a vote tallying system unless it:
     (1) Correctly counts votes on ballots on which the proper number of votes have been marked for any office or issue;
     (2) Ignores votes marked for any office or issue where more than the allowable number of votes have been marked, but correctly counts the properly voted portions of the ballot;
     (3) Accumulates a count of the specific number of ballots tallied for each precinct, total votes by candidate for each office, and total votes for and against each issue of the ballot in that precinct;
     (4) Produces precinct and cumulative totals in printed form; and
     (5) Except for functions or capabilities unique to this state, has been tested((,)) and certified((, and used in at least one other state or election jurisdiction)) by an independent testing authority designated by the United States election assistance commission.

Sec. 4   RCW 29A.40.110 and 2005 c 243 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The opening and subsequent processing of return envelopes for any primary or election may begin upon receipt. The tabulation of absentee ballots must not commence until after 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election.
     (2) All received absentee return envelopes must be placed in secure locations from the time of delivery to the county auditor until their subsequent opening. After opening the return envelopes, the county canvassing board shall place all of the ballots in secure storage until after 8:00 p.m. of the day of the primary or election. Absentee ballots that are to be tabulated on an electronic vote tallying system may be taken from the inner envelopes and all the normal procedural steps may be performed to prepare these ballots for tabulation.
     (3) Before opening a returned absentee ballot, the canvassing board, or its designated representatives, shall examine the postmark, statement, and signature on the return envelope that contains the security envelope and absentee ballot. They shall verify that the voter's signature on the return envelope is the same as the signature of that voter in the registration files of the county. Verification may be conducted by an automated verification system approved by the secretary of state. A variation between the signature of the voter on the return envelope and the signature of that voter in the registration files due to the substitution of initials or the use of common nicknames is permitted so long as the surname and handwriting are clearly the same. For registered voters casting absentee ballots, the date on the return envelope to which the voter has attested determines the validity, as to the time of voting for that absentee ballot if the postmark is missing or is illegible. For out-of-state voters, overseas voters, and service voters stationed in the United States, the date on the return envelope to which the voter has attested determines the validity as to the time of voting for that absentee ballot. ((For any absentee ballot, a variation between the signature of the voter on the return envelope and the signature of that voter in the registration files due to the substitution of initials or the use of common nicknames is permitted so long as the surname and handwriting are clearly the same.))

Sec. 5   RCW 29A.46.020 and 2004 c 267 s 302 are each amended to read as follows:
     "Disability access voting period" means the period of time starting twenty days before an election until ((one day before)) the day of the election.

Sec. 6   RCW 29A.46.110 and 2004 c 267 s 304 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((At the discretion of the county auditor,)) In-person disability access voting ((may take place during the period)) must be available starting twenty days before the day of a primary or election and ending the day ((before)) of the election. During this period, the county auditor must make available a voting system certified by the secretary of state for disability access. The auditor shall maintain a system or systems to prevent multiple voting. ((The end of the disability access voting period in each county will be determined by the auditor's need and ability to print and distribute poll books to the polls in order to prevent multiple voting.))

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 29A.46 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature finds that the elimination of polling places resulting from the transition to vote by mail creates barriers that restrict the ability of many voters with disabilities from achieving the independence and privacy in voting provided by the accessible voting devices required under the help America vote act. Counties adopting a vote by mail system must take appropriate steps to mitigate these impacts and to address the obligation to provide voters with disabilities an equal opportunity to vote independently and privately, to the extent that this can be achieved without incurring undue administrative and financial burden.
     (2) Each county shall establish and maintain an advisory committee that includes persons with diverse disabilities and persons with expertise in providing accommodations for persons with disabilities. The committee shall assist election officials in developing a plan to identify and implement changes to improve the accessibility of elections for voters with disabilities. The plan shall include recommendations for the following:
     (a) The number of polling places that will be maintained in order to ensure that people with disabilities have reasonable access to accessible voting devices, and a written explanation for how the determination was made;
     (b) The locations of polling places, drop-off facilities, voting centers, and other election-related functions necessary to maximize accessibility to persons with disabilities;
     (c) Outreach to voters with disabilities on the availability of disability accommodation, including in-person disability access voting;      (d) Transportation of voting devices to locations convenient for voters with disabilities in order to ensure reasonable access for voters with disabilities; and
     (e) Implementation of the provisions of the help America vote act related to persons with disabilities.
     Counties must update the plan at least annually. The election review staff of the secretary of state shall review and evaluate the plan in conformance with the review procedure identified in RCW 29A.04.570.
     (3) Counties may form a joint advisory committee to develop the plan identified in subsection (2) of this section if the total population of the joining counties does not exceed thirty thousand, and the counties are geographically adjacent.