BILL REQ. #:  S-0732.1 

Read first time 01/28/13.   Referred to Committee on Governmental Operations.

     AN ACT Relating to verifying voter registration qualifications; amending RCW 29A.08.125; and adding a new section to chapter 46.20 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 29A.08.125 and 2009 c 369 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the secretary of state shall maintain a statewide voter registration database. This database must be a centralized, uniform, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list that contains the name and registration information of every registered voter in the state.
     (2) The statewide list is the official list of registered voters for the conduct of all elections.
     (3) The statewide list must include, but is not limited to, the name, date of birth, residence address, signature, gender, and date of registration of every legally registered voter in the state.
     (4) A unique identifier must be assigned to each registered voter in the state.
     (5) The database must be coordinated with other government databases within the state including, but not limited to, the department of corrections, the department of licensing, the department of health, the administrative office of the courts, and county auditors. The database may also be coordinated with the databases of election officials in other states.
     (6) Authorized employees of the secretary of state and each county auditor must have immediate electronic access to the information maintained in the database.
     (7) Voter registration information received by each county auditor must be electronically entered into the database. The office of the secretary of state must provide support, as needed, to enable each county auditor to enter and maintain voter registration information in the state database.
     (8) The secretary of state has data authority over all voter registration data.
     (9) The voter registration database 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 any available databases maintained by other government agencies to identify voters who are ineligible to vote due to a felony conviction, lack of citizenship, or mental incompetence;
     (e) Provide images of voters' signatures for the purpose of checking signatures on initiative and referendum petitions;
     (f) Provide for a comparison between the voter registration database and the department of licensing change of address database;
     (g) Provide access for county auditors that includes the capability to update registrations and search for duplicate registrations; and
     (h) Provide for the cancellation of registrations of voters who have moved out of state.
     (10) The secretary of state may, upon agreement with other appropriate jurisdictions, screen against any available databases maintained by election officials in other states and databases 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.
     (11) The database shall retain information regarding previous successful appeals of proposed cancellations of registrations in order to avoid repeated cancellations for the same reason.
     (12) Each county auditor shall maintain a list of all registered voters within the county that are contained on the official statewide voter registration list. In addition to the information maintained in the statewide database, the county database must also maintain the applicable taxing district and precinct codes for each voter in the county, and a list of elections in which the individual voted.
     (13) Each county auditor shall allow electronic access and information transfer between the county's voter registration system and the official statewide voter registration list.
     (14)(a) The director of the department of licensing shall, on or before the tenth day of each month, prepare and transmit to the secretary of state, in a format as prescribed by the secretary of state, a complete list of all persons, including addresses, ages, and other identifying information as prescribed by the secretary of state, who hold a valid driver's license, driver's instruction permit, identicard, intermediate license, or commercial driver's license.
     (b) The secretary of state shall compare the official state voter registration list maintained under subsection (1) of this section to the list prepared under (a) of this subsection. Upon identifying any registered voters that are not listed through a name and date of birth comparison, the secretary of state shall suspend the voter registration from the official state voter registration list. The secretary of state 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 provisionally and permanently restoring the right to vote and reregistering. If the person does not respond within thirty days, the voter registration must be canceled.
     (c) The secretary of state shall, by March 1st of every year, compose a report of the previous calendar year's voter registration cancellations due to non-United States citizenship. The report must identify the name of the voter and itemize all ballot measures and races voted on by the voter as recorded by the secretary of state. All reports must be made available on the secretary of state's web site.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 46.20 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Beginning August 1, 2013, any person obtaining or renewing his or her driver's license, driver's instruction permit, agricultural driving permit, identicard, intermediate license, or commercial driver's license shall show proof of his or her United States citizenship or his or her lawful presence within the United States. An original or renewal application must not be granted to any person who does not provide verified proof of his or her United States citizenship or his or her lawful presence within the United States. A person who is a citizen or national of the United States, or who is a legal permanent resident alien, must not be required to provide proof under this subsection as long as the department has a record of the person's status in compliance with subsection (4) of this section.
     (2) A person may prove his or her citizenship by providing a valid, unexpired United States passport or passport card, a certified copy of a birth certificate, a consular report of birth abroad issued by the United States department of state, a certificate of naturalization issued by the department of homeland security, or a certificate of citizenship.
     (3) A person may prove his or her lawful presence within the United States by providing documentation that he or she is an alien:
     (a) Lawfully admitted for permanent or temporary residence in the United States;
     (b) With conditional permanent resident status in the United States;
     (c) Who has an approved application for asylum in the United States or has entered into the United States in refugee status;
     (d) Who has a valid nonimmigrant status in the United States;
     (e) Who has a pending application for asylum in the United States;
     (f) Who has a pending or approved application for temporary protected status in the United States;
     (g) Who has approved deferred action status; or
     (h) Who has a pending application for lawful permanent residence or conditional permanent resident status.
     (4) The department shall maintain records of an applicant's status as a United States citizen or as a noncitizen, including the type of document provided and the expiration of the applicant's authorization to lawfully be within the United States. The department shall make such records available to the secretary of state and state and local criminal justice agencies.
     (5) The department shall verify the status of an applicant through either the systematic alien verification for entitlements program or through verification of the applicant's social security number with the United States social security administration.