READ FIRST TIME 02/06/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to partisan elections; amending RCW 29A.24.311, 29A.60.021, and 29A.80.051; adding a new section to chapter 29A.52 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The United States district court, western district of Washington, ruled that Washington's method of electing political party precinct committee officers is unconstitutional based on the associational rights of political parties. The court stated that Washington may decide to implement elections for precinct committee officer in a manner not yet conceived but ultimately satisfactory to the political parties. Washington may even implement these elections in a way that severely burdens the political parties' associational rights but does so in a manner narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest. The major political parties stated in court that they might be satisfied of party membership if a voter checked a box indicating affiliation with the particular party. Toward this end, the legislature has worked closely with the major political parties to develop a system of electing precinct committee officers that the parties support, that will protect the secrecy of the ballot, and will not increase burdens placed on local election officials. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to remedy the unconstitutional method of selecting precinct committee officers by requiring voters to affiliate with the appropriate party in order to vote for a race for precinct committee officer. The legislature finds that the office of precinct committee officer itself is both a constitutionally recognized and authorized office with certain duties outlined in state law and the state Constitution.

Sec. 2   RCW 29A.24.311 and 2011 c 349 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
     Any person who desires to be a write-in candidate and have such votes counted at a primary or election may file a declaration of candidacy with the officer designated in RCW 29A.24.070 not later than the day ballots must be mailed according to RCW 29A.40.070. Declarations of candidacy for write-in candidates must be accompanied by a filing fee in the same manner as required of other candidates filing for the office as provided in RCW 29A.24.091.
     Votes cast for write-in candidates who have filed such declarations of candidacy and write-in votes for persons appointed by major political parties pursuant to RCW 29A.28.021 need only specify the name of the candidate in the appropriate location on the ballot in order to be counted. Write-in votes cast for any other candidate, in order to be counted, must designate the office sought and position number or political party, if the manner in which the write-in is done does not make the office or position clear.
     No person may file as a write-in candidate where:
     (1) At a general election, the person attempting to file either filed as a write-in candidate for the same office at the preceding primary or the person's name appeared on the ballot for the same office at the preceding primary;
     (2) The person attempting to file as a write-in candidate has already filed a valid write-in declaration for that primary or election, unless one or the other of the two filings is for the office of precinct committeeperson;
     (3) The name of the person attempting to file already appears on the ballot as a candidate for another office, unless one of the two offices for which he or she is a candidate is precinct committeeperson.
     The declaration of candidacy shall be similar to that required by RCW 29A.24.031. No write-in candidate filing under this section may be included in any voter's pamphlet produced under chapter 29A.32 RCW unless that candidate qualifies to have his or her name printed on the general election ballot. The legislative authority of any jurisdiction producing a local voter's pamphlet under chapter 29A.32 RCW may provide, by ordinance, for the inclusion of write-in candidates in such pamphlets;
     (4) The office filed for is precinct committee officer.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 29A.52 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office of precinct committee officer must be voted upon at the primary election in each even-numbered year. If no one files for the office, the office shall be filled in accordance with RCW 29A.28.071. Only contested races may appear on the ballot.
     (2) The ballot format may be either a consolidated ballot or a physically separate ballot. If a consolidated ballot is used, the races for precinct committee officer must be clearly delineated from other races on the ballot. If a physically separate ballot is used, it must be distinguishable from the top two primary ballot. If the ballot is returned in the return envelope provided, but outside of the security envelope, it shall not be grounds to invalidate the ballot.
     (3) The following instructions must appear on the ballot: "In order to vote for precinct committee officer, a partisan office, you must affirm that you are a Democrat or a Republican and may vote only for one candidate from the party you select. This preference is private and will not be matched to your name or shared."
     (4) Party affiliation is affirmed by including the following statement after the name of each candidate: "By voting for this candidate, I affirm that I am a Democrat." if the candidate is a Democrat, or "By voting for this candidate, I affirm that I am a Republican." if the candidate is a Republican.
     (5) If a voter votes for candidates from both parties, the votes cast in the election for precinct committee officer on that ballot will not be tabulated and reported.

Sec. 4   RCW 29A.60.021 and 2005 c 243 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For any office, except precinct committee officer, at any election or primary, any voter may write in on the ballot the name of any person for an office who has filed as a write-in candidate for the office in the manner provided by RCW 29A.24.311 and such vote shall be counted the same as if the name had been printed on the ballot and marked by the voter. No write-in vote made for any person who has not filed a declaration of candidacy pursuant to RCW 29A.24.311 is valid if that person filed for the same office, either as a regular candidate or a write-in candidate, at the preceding primary. Any abbreviation used to designate office or position will be accepted if the canvassing board can determine, to its satisfaction, the voter's intent.
     (2) The number of write-in votes cast for each office must be recorded and reported with the canvass for the election.
     (3) A write-in vote for an individual candidate for an office whose name appears on the ballot for that same office is a valid vote for that candidate as long as the candidate's name is clearly discernible, even if other requirements of RCW 29A.24.311 are not satisfied and even if the voter also marked a vote for that candidate such as to register an overvote. These votes need not be tabulated unless: (a) The difference between the number of votes cast for the candidate apparently qualified to appear on the general election ballot or elected and the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes is less than the sum of the total number of write-in votes cast for the office plus the overvotes and undervotes recorded by the vote tabulating system; or (b) a manual recount is conducted for that office.
     (4) Write-in votes cast for an individual candidate for an office whose name does not appear on the ballot need not be tallied unless the total number of write-in votes and undervotes recorded by the vote tabulation system for the office is greater than the number of votes cast for the candidate apparently qualified to appear on the general election ballot or elected.
     (5) In the case of write-in votes for a statewide office or any office whose jurisdiction encompasses more than one county, write-in votes for an individual candidate must be tallied when the county auditor is notified by either the secretary of state or another county auditor in the multicounty jurisdiction that it appears that the write-in votes must be tabulated under the terms of this section. In all other cases, the county auditor determines when write-in votes must be tabulated. Any abstract of votes must be modified to reflect the tabulation and certified by the canvassing board. Tabulation of write-in votes may be performed simultaneously with a recount.

Sec. 5   RCW 29A.80.051 and 2004 c 271 s 149 are each amended to read as follows:
     The statutory requirements for filing as a candidate at the primaries apply to candidates for precinct committee officer. The office must be voted upon at the primaries, and the names of all candidates must appear under the proper party and office designations on the ballot for the primary for each even-numbered year((, and the one)). The candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be declared elected. ((However, to be declared elected, a candidate must receive at least ten percent of the number of votes cast for the candidate of the candidate's party receiving the greatest number of votes in the precinct.)) The term of office of precinct committee officer is two years, commencing the first day of December following the primary.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.