BILL REQ. #:  S-4283.1 

Read first time 01/18/2006.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to the restriction of voting rights for incarcerated felons; amending RCW 29A.08.520, 29A.08.651, and 29A.68.020; adding a new section to chapter 29A.08 RCW; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 10.64.021.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) The system for determining how, when, and where former felons have their right to vote restored is contributing to uncertainty about the validity of the election process, and local county clerks and auditors find it impossible to access clear information about this determination;
     (b) Washington currently denies the right to vote to all persons who have not fully completed all conditions of their sentence, including full payment of their legal financial obligations;
     (c) Responsibility for monitoring compliance with the various conditions of the sentence is placed at various times with the department of corrections, the county clerk, and the sentencing judge; and
     (d) The current system for determining when the right to vote has been restored takes away time from the other important duties of the county clerks, county auditors, and secretary of state's staff.
     (2) The legislature intends to establish a clear standard for restricting and restoring the voting rights of felons that will provide clear information about the status of former felon voting rights to all state and local election officials.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 29A.08 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) In any felony case, when the court sentences the defendant to a term of total confinement in the custody of the department of corrections, the defendant is deprived of the right to register to vote, update a registration or vote in any election in this state from the date of sentencing until:
     (a) The defendant is released from total confinement; or
     (b) The defendant's conviction is reversed, dismissed, or vacated.
     (2) In any felony case, when the defendant receives a subsequent term of imprisonment of total confinement in the department of corrections for violation of the conditions of community supervision, community placement, and/or community custody, the defendant is deprived of the right to register to vote, update a registration, or vote in any election in this state from the date of sentencing until:
     (a) The defendant is released from total confinement; or
     (b) The defendant's conviction is reversed, dismissed, or vacated.
     (3) A person convicted of any crime and serving a term of total confinement in any federal correctional institution in this state is deprived of the right to register to vote, update a registration, or vote in any election in this state from the date of sentencing until:
     (a) The person is released from total confinement; or
     (b) The person's conviction is reversed, dismissed, or vacated.
     (4) The rights and privileges withdrawn by this section are restored automatically upon release from total confinement.

Sec. 3   RCW 29A.08.520 and 2005 c 246 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((Upon receiving official notice of a person's conviction of a felony in either state or federal court, if the convicted person is a registered voter in the county, the county auditor shall cancel the defendant's voter registration. Additionally, the secretary of state in conjunction with the department of corrections, the Washington state patrol, the office of the administrator for the courts, and other appropriate state agencies shall arrange for a quarterly comparison of a list of known felons with the statewide voter registration list. If a person is found on a felon list and the statewide voter registration list, the secretary of state or county auditor shall confirm the match through a date of birth comparison and suspend the voter registration from the official state voter registration list. The canceling authority shall send to the person at his or her last known voter registration address a notice of the proposed cancellation and an explanation of the requirements for restoring the right to vote once all terms of sentencing have been completed. If the person does not respond within thirty days, the registration must be canceled.
     (2) The right to vote may be restored by, for each felony conviction, one of the following:
     (a) A certificate of discharge issued by the sentencing court, as provided in RCW 9.94A.637;
     (b) A court order restoring the right, as provided in RCW 9.92.066;
     (c) A final order of discharge issued by the indeterminate sentence review board, as provided in RCW 9.96.050; or
     (d) A certificate of restoration issued by the governor, as provided in RCW 9.96.020.)) The secretary of state shall maintain a current list of all incarcerated felons in the department of corrections.
     (2) The department of corrections shall provide the secretary of state's office with a list of the name and last known address of each person who:
     (a) Was convicted of a felony in a Washington state court; and
     (b) Is currently incarcerated in the department of corrections to a term of total confinement for commission of a felony. The secretary of state shall arrange for a periodic transmittal of the information after consultation with the department of corrections.
     (3) The department of corrections shall provide the secretary of state's office with a list of the name of each convicted felon who has been released from total confinement at the department of corrections. The secretary of state shall arrange for a periodic transmittal of the information after consultation with the department of corrections.

Sec. 4   RCW 29A.08.651 and 2005 c 246 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the secretary of state shall create and maintain a statewide voter registration data base. This data base must be a single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and administered at the state level that contains the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state and assigns a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state.
     (2) The computerized list must serve as the single system for storing and maintaining the official list of registered voters throughout the state.
     (3) The computerized list must contain the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state.
     (4) Under the computerized list, a unique identifier is assigned to each legally registered voter in the state.
     (5) The computerized list must be coordinated with other agency data bases within the state, including but not limited to the department of corrections, the department of licensing, the department of health, the Washington state patrol, and the office of the administrator for the courts. The computerized list may also be coordinated with the data bases of election officials in other states.
     (6) Any election officer in the state, including any local election officer, may obtain immediate electronic access to the information contained in the computerized list.
     (7) All voter registration information obtained by any local election officer in the state must be electronically entered into the computerized list on an expedited basis at the time the information is provided to the local officer.
     (8) The chief state election officer shall provide support, as may be required, so that local election officers are able to enter information as described in subsection (3) of this section.
     (9) The computerized list serves as the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections.
     (10) The secretary of state has data authority on all voter registration data.
     (11) The voter registration data base must be designed to accomplish at a minimum, the following:
     (a) Comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-252);
     (b) Identify duplicate voter registrations;
     (c) Identify suspected duplicate voters;
     (d) Screen against the department of corrections, the Washington state patrol, and other appropriate state agency data bases to aid in the ((cancellation of voter registration of)) identification of felons who are currently sentenced to a term of total confinement in the department of corrections, of persons who have declined to serve on juries by virtue of not being citizens of the United States, and of persons determined to be legally incompetent to vote;
     (e) Provide up-to-date signatures of voters for the purposes of initiative signature checking;
     (f) Provide for a comparison between the voter registration data base and the department of licensing change of address data base;
     (g) Provide online access for county auditors with the goal of real time duplicate checking and update capabilities; and
     (h) Provide for the cancellation of voter registration for persons who have moved to other states and surrendered their Washington state drivers' licenses.
     (12) In order to maintain the statewide voter registration data base, the secretary of state may, upon agreement with other appropriate jurisdictions, screen against data bases maintained by election officials in other states and data bases maintained by federal agencies including, but not limited to, the federal bureau of investigation, the federal court system, the federal bureau of prisons, and the bureau of citizenship and immigration services.
     (13) The secretary of state shall retain information regarding previous successful appeals of proposed cancellations of registrations in order to avoid repeated cancellations for the same reason.
     (14) The secretary of state must review and update the records of all registered voters on the computerized list on a quarterly basis to make additions and corrections.

Sec. 5   RCW 29A.68.020 and 2003 c 111 s 1702 are each amended to read as follows:
     Any registered voter may contest the right of any person declared elected to an office to be issued a certificate of election for any of the following causes:
     (1) For misconduct on the part of any member of any precinct election board involved therein;
     (2) Because the person whose right is being contested was not at the time the person was declared elected eligible to that office;
     (3) Because the person whose right is being contested was ((previous to)), at the time of the election ((convicted of a)), incarcerated in the department of corrections to a term of total confinement pursuant to a felony sentence imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction((, the conviction not having been reversed nor the person's civil rights restored after the conviction));
     (4) Because the person whose right is being contested gave a bribe or reward to a voter or to an inspector or judge of election for the purpose of procuring the election, or offered to do so;
     (5) On account of illegal votes.
     (a) Illegal votes include but are not limited to the following:
     (i) More than one vote cast by a single voter;
     (ii) A vote cast by a person disqualified under Article VI, section 3 of the state Constitution.
     (b) Illegal votes do not include votes cast by improperly registered voters who were not properly challenged under RCW 29A.08.810 and 29A.08.820.
     All election contests must proceed under RCW ((29A.68.010)) 29A.68.011.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   RCW 10.64.021 (Notice of conviction) and 1994 c 57 s 1 are each repealed.