FINAL BILL REPORT

SSB 6021

C 112 L 18

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Extending the period for voter registration.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections (originally sponsored by Senators Kuderer, Billig, Darneille, Palumbo, Frockt, Rolfes, Liias, Keiser, Pedersen, Hunt, Wellman, Conway, Saldaña, Hasegawa, Mullet and Nelson).

Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections

House Committee on State Government, Elections & Information Technology

Background: Voter Registration Deadlines. To register to vote, a person must submit an application via mail or an online registration no later than 29 days before the day of the next primary, special, or general election, or in person at their county auditor's office no later than eight days before the election.

A person may update voter registration at least 29 days before an election for the change to be effective for that election. A voter who does not transfer the voter's residential information by that deadline may still vote, but will vote in races affecting the voter's previous address.

Voting Centers. Each county auditor is required to establish at least one voting center 18 days before each election. The voting center must provide voter registration materials, replacement ballots, provisional ballots, disability access voting devices, sample ballots, voter pamphlets, instructions on how to vote the ballot, and a ballot drop box. County auditors have discretion to establish additional voting centers, and may provide some or all of the services required of the initial voting center.

Summary: Voter Registration Deadlines. Voter registrations submitted electronically or through the mail must be received eight days before an election for a person to be eligible to participate in that election. Voter registrations may be submitted in-person at the county auditor's office, county elections office, or another location designated by the county auditor up to 8:00 p.m. the day of the election for a person to participate in that election. A person may update their voter registration information up to 8:00 p.m. the day of the election.

Voter Registration Locations. The county auditor must register voters in-person at the county auditor's office and the county elections office, if in a different city than the county auditor's office. For presidential elections, the county auditor must open a voting center in every additional city in the county not presently accepting in-person voter registrations with a population of 100,000 or more, which is not required to be open the Sunday before the election.

At least one additional location, designated by the county auditor for accepting voter registrations besides the auditor's office or county elections office, must provide the same services as a voting center. Voting centers should be located in public buildings or buildings leased by public entities such as libraries.

Notification. The 2018 general election voter's pamphlet must contain information about the updates to voter registration deadlines in this act.

Votes on Final Passage: