AN ACT Relating to requiring that witnesses to voter signature marks on ballot declarations be verified registered voters; amending RCW 29A.40.091, 29A.40.160, and 29A.60.165; and reenacting and amending RCW 29A.40.110.

(1) The county auditor shall send each voter a ballot, a security envelope in which to conceal the ballot after voting, a larger envelope in which to return the security envelope, a declaration that the voter must sign, a witness declaration, and instructions on how to obtain information about the election, how to mark the ballot, ((and)) how to return the ballot to the county auditor, and how the voter may sign the declaration by making a mark, witnessed by two registered voters, if the voter is unable to write their signature. The two witnesses shall sign the witness declaration and provide the information described under subsection (2) of this section, attest to the validity of the voter's signature mark, and declare under penalty of perjury that they have personally observed the voter making their signature mark on the ballot declaration.

(2)(a) The voter must swear under penalty of perjury that he or she meets the qualifications to vote, and has not voted in any other jurisdiction at this election. The declaration must clearly inform the voter that it is illegal to vote if he or she is not a United States citizen; it is illegal to vote if he or she has been convicted of a felony and has not had his or her voting rights restored; and it is illegal to cast a ballot or sign a ballot declaration on behalf of another voter. The ballot materials must provide space for the voter to sign the declaration, indicate the date on which the ballot was voted, and include a telephone number.

(i) Sign the witness declaration that states that the witness is a registered voter, attests to the validity of the voter's signature mark, and declares under penalty of perjury that he or she has personally observed the voter making his or her signature mark on the ballot declaration;

(3) For overseas and service voters, the signed declaration constitutes the equivalent of a voter registration. Return envelopes for overseas and service voters must enable the ballot to be returned postage free if mailed through the United States postal service, United States armed forces postal service, or the postal service of a United States foreign embassy under 39 U.S.C. 3406.

(4) The voter must be instructed to either return the ballot to the county auditor no later than 8:00 p.m. the day of the election or primary, or mail the ballot to the county auditor with a postmark no later than the day of the election or primary. Return envelopes for all election ballots must include prepaid postage. Service and overseas voters must be provided with instructions and a privacy sheet for returning the ballot and signed declaration by fax or email. A voted ballot and signed declaration returned by fax or email must be received by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the election or primary.

(5) The county auditor's name may not appear on the security envelope, the return envelope, or on any voting instructions or materials included with the ballot if he or she is a candidate for office during the same year.

(1) The opening and subsequent processing of return envelopes for any primary or election may begin upon receipt. The tabulation of absentee ballots must not commence until after 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election.

(2) All received return envelopes must be placed in secure locations from the time of delivery to the county auditor until their subsequent opening. After opening the return envelopes, the county canvassing board shall place all of the ballots in secure storage until processing. Ballots may be taken from the inner envelopes and all the normal procedural steps may be performed to prepare these ballots for tabulation.

(3)(a) The canvassing board, or its designated representatives, shall examine the postmark on the return envelope and signature on the declaration before processing the ballot. The ballot must either be received no later than 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election, or must be postmarked no later than the day of the primary or election. All personnel assigned to verify signatures must receive training on statewide standards for signature verification. Personnel shall verify that the voter's signature on the ballot declaration is the same as the signature of that voter in the registration files of the county. Verification may be conducted by an automated verification system approved by the secretary of state. A variation between the signature of the voter on the ballot declaration and the signature of that voter in the registration files due to the substitution of initials or the use of common nicknames is permitted so long as the surname and handwriting are clearly the same.

(b) If the voter signs the ballot declaration with a mark, the mark must be accompanied by the witness declaration described under RCW 29A.40.091. The canvassing board, or its designated representatives, shall verify that the names of the two witnesses appear in the voter registration database as registered voters before processing the ballot. If the mark is not accompanied by a witness declaration or the names do not appear in the voter registration database as registered voters, the county auditor shall process the ballot in the same manner as an unsigned ballot in accordance with RCW 29A.60.165.

(4) If the postmark is missing or illegible, the date on the ballot declaration to which the voter has attested determines the validity, as to the time of voting, for that ballot. For overseas voters and service voters, the date on the declaration to which the voter has attested determines the validity, as to the time of voting, for that ballot. Any overseas voter or service voter may return the signed declaration and voted ballot by fax or email by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election, and the county auditor must use established procedures to maintain the secrecy of the ballot.

(1) Each county auditor shall open a voting center each primary, special election, and general election. The voting center shall be open during business hours during the voting period, which begins eighteen days before, and ends at 8:00 p.m. on the day of, the primary, special election, or general election.

(c) For each presidential general election, at a voting center in each city in the county with a population of one hundred thousand or greater, which does not have a voting center as required in (a) or (b) of this subsection. A voting center opened pursuant to this subsection (2) is not required to be open on the Sunday before the presidential election.

(4) Each voting center, and at least one of the other locations designated by the county auditor to allow voters to register in person pursuant to RCW 29A.08.140(1)(b), must provide voter registration materials, ballots, provisional ballots, disability access voting units, sample ballots, instructions on how to properly vote the ballot, a ballot drop box, and voters' pamphlets, if a voters' pamphlet has been published.

(5) Each voting center must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Each state agency and entity of local government shall permit the use of any of its accessible facilities as voting centers when requested by a county auditor.

(6) Each voting center must provide at least one voting unit certified by the secretary of state that provides access to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, enabling them to vote with privacy and independence.

(8) Before opening the voting center, the voting equipment shall be inspected to determine if it has been properly prepared for voting. If the voting equipment is capable of direct tabulation of each voter's choices, the county auditor shall verify that no votes have been registered for any issue or office, and that the device has been sealed with a unique numbered seal at the time of final preparation and logic and accuracy testing. A log must be made of all device numbers and seal numbers.

(a) The signature on the declaration must be compared to the signature on the voter registration record before the ballot may be counted. If the voter registered using a mark, or can no longer sign his or her name, the election officers shall require the voter to be identified by ((another))two verified registered ((voter))voters.

(b) The identification must be valid photo identification, such as a driver's license, state identification card, student identification card, tribal identification card, or employer identification card. A tribal identification card is not required to include a residential address or an expiration date to be considered valid under this section. Any individual who desires to vote in person but cannot provide identification shall be issued a provisional ballot, which shall be accepted if the signature on the declaration matches the signature on the voter's registration record.

(10) Provisional ballots must be accompanied by a declaration and security envelope, as required by RCW 29A.40.091, and space for the voter's name, date of birth, current and former registered address, reason for the provisional ballot, and disposition of the provisional ballot. The voter shall vote and return the provisional ballot at the voting center. The voter must be provided information on how to ascertain whether the provisional ballot was counted and, if applicable, the reason why the vote was not counted.

(11) Any voter may take printed or written material into the voting device to assist in casting his or her vote. The voter shall not use this material to electioneer and shall remove it when he or she leaves the voting center.

(12) If any voter states that he or she is unable to cast his or her votes due to a disability, the voter may designate a person of his or her choice, or two election officers, to enter the voting booth and record the votes as he or she directs.

(14) A voter who has already returned a ballot but requests to vote at a voting center shall be issued a provisional ballot. The canvassing board shall not count the provisional ballot if it finds that the voter has also voted a regular ballot in that primary, special election, or general election.

(16) For each primary, special election, and general election, the county auditor may provide election services at locations in addition to the voting center. The county auditor has discretion to establish which services will be provided at the additional locations, and which days and hours the locations will be open.

(1) If the voter neglects to sign the ballot declaration, the auditor shall notify the voter by first-class mail and advise the voter of the correct procedures for completing the unsigned declaration. If the ballot is received within three business days of the final meeting of the canvassing board, or the voter has been notified by first-class mail and has not responded at least three business days before the final meeting of the canvassing board, then the auditor shall attempt to notify the voter by telephone, using the voter registration record information.

(2)(a) If the handwriting of the signature on a ballot declaration is not the same as the handwriting of the signature on the registration file, the auditor shall notify the voter by first-class mail, enclosing a copy of the declaration, and advise the voter of the correct procedures for updating his or her signature on the voter registration file. If the ballot is received within three business days of the final meeting of the canvassing board, or the voter has been notified by first-class mail and has not responded at least three business days before the final meeting of the canvassing board, then the auditor shall attempt to notify the voter by telephone, using the voter registration record information.

(b) If the signature on a ballot declaration is not the same as the signature on the registration file because the name is different, the ballot may be counted as long as the handwriting is clearly the same. The auditor shall send the voter a change-of-name form under RCW 29A.08.440 and direct the voter to complete the form.

(c) If the signature on a ballot declaration is not the same as the signature on the registration file because the voter used initials or a common nickname, the ballot may be counted as long as the surname and handwriting are clearly the same.

(d) If the voter is unable to write their signature and signs using a mark, the ballot may be counted as long as the mark is accompanied by the witness declaration described under RCW 29A.40.091 and the witness signatures are verified in accordance with RCW 29A.40.110. If the mark is not accompanied by the witness declaration, or the witness signatures cannot be verified, the county auditor shall process the ballot in the same manner as an unsigned ballot pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

(4) A record must be kept of all ballots with missing and mismatched signatures. The record must contain the date on which the voter was contacted or the notice was mailed, as well as the date on which the voter submitted updated information. The record must be updated each day that ballots are processed under RCW 29A.60.160, each time a voter was contacted or the notice was mailed, and when the voter submitted updated information. The auditor shall send the record, and any updated records, to the secretary of state no later than forty-eight hours after the record is created or updated. The secretary of state shall make all records publicly available no later than twenty-four hours after receiving the record.