BILL REQ. #:  S-3845.1 

Read first time 01/26/12.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to write-in voting; and amending RCW 29A.24.311 and 29A.60.021.

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

Sec. 1   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)) must file a declaration of candidacy with the officer designated in RCW 29A.24.070 not later than ((the)) eighteen days ((ballots must be mailed according to RCW 29A.40.070)) before the primary or election. 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.

Sec. 2   RCW 29A.60.021 and 2005 c 243 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For any office 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 votes ((made)) for any person who has not filed a declaration of candidacy pursuant to RCW 29A.24.311 ((is)) are not 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.