1754-SAMSGOS2962.1SHB 1754S COMM AMDBy Committee on Government Operations & ElectionsADOPTED 04/14/2005 Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert thefollowing:Sec. RCW 29A.48.010 and 2004 c 266 s 14 are each amended toread as follows: (1) With express authorization from the county legislativeauthority, the county auditor may conduct all primary, special, andgeneral elections entirely by mail ballot. The county legislativeauthority must give the county auditor at least ninety days' noticebefore the first election to be conducted entirely by mail ballot. Ifthe county legislative authority and the county auditor decide toreturn to a polling place election environment, the county legislativeauthority must give the county auditor at least one hundred eightydays' notice before the first election to be conducted using pollingplaces. 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 thantwo hundred active registered voters at the time of closing of voterregistration as provided in RCW 29A.08.140 as a mail ballot precinct.((The county auditor shall notify each registered voter by mail thatfor all future primaries and elections the voting in his or herprecinct will be by mail ballot only.)) Authorization from the countylegislative authority is not required to designate a precinct as a mailballot precinct under this subsection. In determining the number ofregistered voters in a precinct for the purposes of this section,persons who are ongoing absentee voters under RCW 29A.40.040 shall notbe counted. Nothing in this section may be construed as altering thevote tallying requirements of RCW 29A.60.230. (3) The county auditor shall notify each registered voter by mailthat for all future primaries and elections the voting will be by mailballot only. The auditor shall mail each active voter a ballot at 1 least eighteen days before a primary, general election, or specialelection. The auditor shall send each inactive voter either a ballotor an application to receive a ballot at least eighteen days before aprimary, general election, or special election. The auditor shalldetermine which of the two is to be sent. If the inactive voterreturns a voted ballot, the ballot shall be counted and the voter'sstatus restored to active. If the inactive voter completes and returnsan application, a ballot shall be sent and the voter's status restoredto active. The requirements regarding certification, reporting, andthe 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, orthe)) county legislative authority and county auditor determine undersubsection (1) of this section, or if the county auditor determinesunder subsection (2) of this section, to return to a polling placeelection environment, the auditor shall notify each registered voter,by mail, of this and shall provide the address of the polling place tobe used.SHB 1754S COMM AMDBy Committee on Government Operations & ElectionsADOPTED 04/14/2005 On page 1, line 1 of the title, after elections; strike theremainder of the title and insert and amending RCW 29A.48.010.--- END --- 2