BILL REQ. #:  S-3523.2 

Read first time 01/11/2006.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to proper identification for voters; and amending RCW 29A.44.205 and 46.20.117.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 29A.44.205 and 2005 c 243 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     Any person desiring to vote at any primary or election is required to provide valid photo identification to the election officer before signing the poll book. ((The identification required in this section can be satisfied by providing a valid photo identification, such as a driver's license or state identification card, student identification card, or tribal identification card, a voter's voter identification issued by a county elections officer, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or government check or other government document.)) Valid photo identification consists of any one of the following:
     (1) A valid driver's license;
     (2) A valid state identification card;
     (3) A valid United States passport;
     (4) A valid tribal identification card;
     (5) A valid United States military identification card.
     Any individual who desires to vote in person but cannot provide identification as required by this section shall be issued a provisional ballot.
     The secretary of state may adopt rules to carry out this section.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.20.117 and 2005 c 314 s 305 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Issuance. The department shall issue an identicard, containing a picture, if the applicant:
     (((a))) (i) Does not hold a valid Washington driver's license;
     (((b))) (ii) Proves his or her identity as required by RCW 46.20.035 and 29A.44.205; and
     (((c))) (iii) Pays the required fee. The fee is twenty dollars unless an applicant is a recipient of continuing public assistance grants under Title 74 RCW, who is referred in writing by the secretary of social and health services. For those persons the fee must be the actual cost of production of the identicard.
     (b) The department may not collect a fee for an identification card from a person:
     (i) Who swears under oath that he or she is indigent and cannot pay the fee for an identification card, that he or she desires an identification card in order to vote in a primary or election in Washington, and that he or she does not have any other form of identification that is acceptable under RCW 29A.44.205 in order to vote; and
     (ii) Who produces evidence that he or she is registered to vote in Washington. This subsection does not apply to a person who has been issued a driver's license in this state.
     (2) Design and term. The identicard must:
     (a) Be distinctly designed so that it will not be confused with the official driver's license; and
     (b) Expire on the fifth anniversary of the applicant's birthdate after issuance.
     (3) Renewal. An application for identicard renewal may be submitted by means of:
     (a) Personal appearance before the department; or
     (b) Mail or electronic commerce, if permitted by rule of the department and if the applicant did not renew his or her identicard by mail or by electronic commerce when it last expired. However, the department may accept an application for renewal of an identicard submitted by means of mail or electronic commerce only if specific authority and funding is provided for this purpose by June 30, 2004, in the omnibus transportation appropriations act.
     An identicard may not be renewed by mail or by electronic commerce unless the renewal issued by the department includes a photograph of the identicard holder.
     (4) Cancellation. The department may cancel an identicard if the holder of the identicard used the card or allowed others to use the card in violation of RCW 46.20.0921.