AN ACT Relating to the election of county prosecutor as a nonpartisan office; amending RCW 29A.04.110, 29A.52.231, 36.16.110, 36.16.115, and 42.12.040; and repealing 2013 c 11 s 45.

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

Sec. 1.  RCW 29A.04.110 and 2005 c 2 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

"Partisan office" means a public office for which a candidate may indicate a political party preference on his or her declaration of candidacy and have that preference appear on the primary and general election ballot in conjunction with his or her name. The following are partisan offices:

(1) United States senator and United States representative;

(2) All state offices, including legislative, except (a) judicial offices and (b) the office of superintendent of public instruction;

(3) All county offices except (a) judicial offices ((and)), (b) those offices for which a county home rule charter provides otherwise, and (c) the office of a county prosecutor for which the county has designated as a nonpartisan office, pursuant to RCW 29A.52.231.

Sec. 2.  RCW 29A.52.231 and 2004 c 271 s 174 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The offices of superintendent of public instruction, justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of appeals, judge of the superior court, and judge of the district court shall be nonpartisan and the candidates therefor shall be nominated and elected as such.

(2) All city, town, and special purpose district elective offices shall be nonpartisan and the candidates therefor shall be nominated and elected as such.

Sec. 3.  RCW 36.16.110 and 2010 c 207 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The county legislative authority in each county shall, at its next regular or special meeting after being appraised of any vacancy in any county, township, precinct, or road district office of the county, fill the vacancy by the appointment of some person qualified to hold such office, and the officers thus appointed shall hold office until the next general election, and until their successors are elected and qualified.

(2) If a vacancy occurs in a partisan county office after the general election in a year that the position appears on the ballot and before the start of the next term, the term of the successor who is of the same party as the incumbent may commence once he or she has qualified as defined in RCW 29A.04.133 and shall continue through the term for which he or she was elected.

(3) If a vacancy occurs in a nonpartisan county board of commissioners elective office or nonpartisan county council elective office, the person appointed to fill the vacancy must be from the same legislative district, county, or county commissioner or council district as the county elective officer whose office was vacated, and must be one of three persons who must be nominated by the nonpartisan executive or nonpartisan chair of the board of commissioners for the county. In case a majority of the members of the county legislative authority do not agree upon the appointment within sixty days after the vacancy occurs, the governor shall within thirty days thereafter, and from the list of nominees provided for in this section, appoint someone to fill the vacancy.

(4) If a vacancy occurs in a nonpartisan county board of commissioners elective office ((or)), nonpartisan county council elective office, or a nonpartisan county prosecutor office after the general election in a year that the position appears on the ballot and before the start of the next term, the term of the successor may commence once he or she has qualified as defined in RCW 29A.04.133 and shall continue through the term for which he or she was elected.

Sec. 4.  RCW 36.16.115 and 1981 c 180 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

Where a vacancy occurs in any partisan county elective office, other than a member of the county legislative authority, or a nonpartisan county prosecutor office, the county legislative authority may appoint an employee that was serving as a deputy or assistant in such office at the time the vacancy occurred as an acting official to perform all necessary duties to continue normal office operations. The acting official will serve until a successor is either elected or appointed as required by law. This section does not apply to any vacancy occurring in a charter county which has charter provisions inconsistent with this section.

Sec. 5.  RCW 42.12.040 and 2013 c 11 s 88 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) If a vacancy occurs in any partisan elective office in the executive or legislative branches of state government or in any partisan county elective office or any nonpartisan county prosecutor office before the first day of the regular filing period, the position must be open for filing during the regular filing period as provided in RCW 29A.24.171 and a successor shall be elected at the general election. Except during the last year of the term of office, if such a vacancy occurs on or after the first day of the regular filing period, the election of the successor shall occur at the next succeeding general election as provided in RCW 29A.24.171. The elected successor shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term. This section shall not apply to any vacancy occurring in a charter county which has charter provisions inconsistent with this section.

(2) If a vacancy occurs in any legislative office or in any partisan county office after the general election in a year that the position appears on the ballot and before the start of the next term, the term of the successor who is of the same party as the incumbent may commence once he or she has qualified as defined in RCW 29A.04.133 and shall continue through the term for which he or she was elected.

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