Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) prohibits racial discrimination in state and local elections in order to enforce the provisions of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States (US) Constitution.  The Fifteenth Amendment states that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
 
Preclearance.  Section 5 of the VRA prohibits covered jurisdictions from changing their voting laws, practices, or procedures until they have first obtained a determination from a federal court or the US Attorney General that the change does not have the purpose or effect of discriminating on the basis of race or language-minority status.  The coverage formula to determine which jurisdictions are covered by the preclearance requirement considers:  (1) whether, in the elections of 1964, 1968, and 1972, the jurisdiction used a test or device to restrict the opportunity to register and vote, such as literacy tests or proof of good and moral character; and (2) whether fewer than half of the jurisdiction's eligible citizens were registered to vote or participated in the elections of 1964, 1968, and 1972.

 
In a 2013 case, Shelby County v. Holder, the US Supreme Court held that this specific coverage formula was unconstitutional because it was no longer responsive to the current environment and thus violated principles of equal state sovereignty.  Because Congress has not updated the formula since the court decision, no jurisdictions are currently subject to preclearance under the VRA.

Washington Voting Rights Act.

In 2018 the state enacted the Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) to regulate elections in counties, cities, towns, school districts, fire protection districts, port districts, and public utility districts (referred all together as political subdivisions), with exceptions.  The WVRA does not contain any preclearance requirements.  Rather, a violation of the WVRA is established when a political subdivision's method of electing its governing body exhibits polarized voting and members of a protected class do not have an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice as a result of dilution or abridgement of their rights.  Polarized voting is shown when there is a difference in the choice of candidate or other electoral choices that are preferred by voters in a protected class or coalition of protected classes, and in the choice of candidates and electoral choices that are preferred by voters in the rest of the electorate.

A political subdivision may take corrective action on its own to change election systems in order to remedy a potential violation of the WVRA, including through implementation of a district-based election system, so long as certain notice requirements are met.  Any voter who resides in a political subdivision, an organization whose members or volunteers include a voter who resides in the political subdivision, or a tribe located at least in part, in the political subdivision may challenge the political subdivision's electoral system by filing a notice of intent to sue that identifies the protected class(es) who are affected because of alleged vote dilution and polarized voting.  If corrective action is taken in response to such notice, the political subdivision must obtain a court order certifying that the remedy complies with the WVRA.

If, after the political subdivision receives a notice of intent to challenge the electoral system because of alleged vote dilution and polarized voting, the political subdivision does not remedy the alleged violation within 90 days, a party may file an action against the political subdivision in superior court.  To determine whether voting is polarized in a vote dilution claim, the court assesses the elections pragmatically based on local election conditions.  If a violation is found, the court may order appropriate remedies, including requiring the political subdivision to redistrict or create a district-based election system.

Preclearance–Washington Voting Rights Act.

The Washington Voting Rights Act is amended to add a preclearance requirement for covered jurisdictions seeking to adopt or implement a covered policy.  Covered jurisdictions are a political subdivision, defined as a county, city, town, school district, fire protection district, port district, or public utility district, which meet one of the following criteria:

• Within the previous 25 years, the political subdivision was subject to a government enforcement action or settlement based upon:
  • a violation of the WVRA or federal VRA, the Fifteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, or any voting-related violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution or state Constitution; or
  • a finding or concession that the political subdivision engaged in a pattern, policy, or practice of discrimination against members of a protected class in violation of state or federal law.
• During the previous 25 years, the political subdivision, was found to have enacted or implemented a covered policy without obtaining preclearance for such covered policy while designated as a covered jurisdiction. 

By July 1 of each even-numbered year, the Attorney General must, in consultation with the Office of Financial Management, and any other relevant agency, determine which political subdivisions qualify as covered jurisdictions and notify them in writing.  The Attorney General must maintain a website that lists all covered jurisdictions, submissions for preclearance along with any supporting documents, and the status and disposition of each submission.

Preclearance must be obtained any time a covered jurisdiction seeks to adopt or implement a covered policy.  Covered policies include:

• any change to the election method of members of a governing body;
• any change to the boundaries of the covered jurisdiction that reduces, by more than five percentage points, the proportion of the jurisdiction's citizen voting age population that is composed of members of any protected class that is a basis for that political subdivision's designation as a covered jurisdiction;
• any change to the boundaries of election districts or wards;
• any restriction on the ability of any person to provide interpreter services to voters in a language other than English or any limitation on the creation or distribution of voting materials in any language other than English;
• any change to that jurisdiction's plan of government;
• the method of election or district plans if, after the census, a covered jurisdiction maintains an at-large method of election;
• the method of election or district plans of a covered jurisdiction that implemented a district-based election if, after the census, the jurisdiction makes no revisions to its districting plans; or
• any change that may have the effect of denying, abridging, or diluting the right to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, as determined by the Attorney General.

Preclearance may be obtained by submitting a request to the Attorney General for a certification of no objection.  A certificate of no objection must be issued if the covered policy:  (1) will not diminish the ability of the protected class or classes that are the basis for the political subdivision's designation as a covered jurisdiction to participate in the political process or to elect their preferred candidates to office; and (2) does not violate the WVRA, federal VRA, or other provisions of state or federal law.

If the Attorney General does not grant preclearance, only the covered jurisdiction may appeal the denial to the superior court.  These appeals may be subject to expedited proceedings and the court may stay the implementation of the covered policy until a final order is issued.

The Attorney General or an aggrieved person may sue the covered jurisdiction in superior court to compel it to comply with preclearance requirements and enjoin it from implementing a covered policy until it complies.  An aggrieved person may also file an action in superior court if the Attorney General issued a certificate of no objection to the covered policy without meeting the standard to grant preclearance.  An organization may be considered an "aggrieved person" if its membership includes individuals aggrieved by an act for which an aggrieved person may file an action in superior court, or if its mission would be frustrated by such an act.

Once a covered policy is approved by the Attorney General or a court in the case of an appeal, an action against the political subdivision based on the same covered policy may not be brought within four years of the approval of that covered policy so long as the political subdivision does not enact a change to or deviation from the approved covered policy during the four-year period that would otherwise give rise to an action under the bill or the WVRA.

See House Bill Report in the 2025 Legislative Session. 

See House Bill Report in the 2025 Legislative Session. 

See House Bill Report in the 2025 Legislative Session.