Z-985                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5725

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Newhouse and Madsen; by request of Secretary of State

Read first time 2/3/89 and referred to Committee on  Governmental Operations.

AN ACT Relating to polling place activities; amending RCW 29.51.020; adding new sections to chapter 29.01 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 29.51 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 29.01 RCW to read as follows:

          "Electioneering" is any attempt to influence persons to vote in support of, or in opposition to, any candidate, political party, or ballot measure, by either oral or visual means.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 29.01 RCW to read as follows:

          A "polling place" is the room or rooms in which the voting for a precinct or group of combined precincts is conducted on the day of a primary, special election, or general election.

        Sec. 3.  Section 29.51.020, chapter 9, Laws of 1965 as last amended by section 1, chapter 35, Laws of 1984 and RCW 29.51.020 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) On the day of any primary, ((general or)) special election, or general election, no person may((,)):

(a) Within a polling place, ((or)) engage in an activity that is not directly related to the conduct and administration of that primary or election under this title;

(b)  In any public area within three hundred feet of any entrance to ((such)) a polling place((:

          (a) Do any)), engage in electioneering((;

          (b) Circulate cards or handbills of any kind;

          (c) Solicit signatures to any kind of petition;

          (d) Engage in)) or any other practice which interferes with the freedom of a voter((s)) to exercise ((their)) his or her franchise or that disrupts the administration of the primary or the election within the polling place; ((or

          (e) Conduct any exit poll or public opinion poll with voters.

          (2) No person may))

(c) Obstruct the doors or entries to a polling place or the building in which a polling place is located or prevent free access to and from any polling place((.  Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or municipal law enforcement officer shall prevent such obstruction, and may arrest any person creating such obstruction.

          (3) No person may:

          (a) Except as provided in RCW 29.34.157,));

(d) Remove any ballot from the polling place before the closing of the polls under RCW 29.34.157; ((or

          (b))) (e) Solicit any voter to show his or her ballot.

          (((4))) (2) No person other than an inspector or judge of election may receive ((from any voter)) a voted ballot from a voter or deliver a blank ballot to ((such elector)) a voter.

          (((5))) (3) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor under RCW 9A.20.010((,)) and shall be punished under RCW 9A.20.020(3), and the person convicted may be ordered to pay the costs of prosecution.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     A person desiring to conduct an exit poll or systematic survey of voters in any county shall, not later than twenty days before the primary or election at which the activity is to be conducted, notify the county auditor in writing of his or her intention.  The notification shall include his or her name, the organization, if any, that he or she is representing, and the location or locations at which he or she intends to conduct the poll or survey.  If the poll or survey is to be conducted on behalf of an organization, the organization may be the notifying authority.  A copy of this notification shall be provided to the secretary of state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     A person conducting a poll or survey must identify himself or herself, and the organization he or she is representing, if any, to each potential respondent before beginning the poll or survey.  This identification may be either oral or by means of a badge, sign, or other visual identification.  The person conducting the poll or survey may not imply to potential respondents that responses to the poll or survey are anything other than voluntary.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.     The county auditor of each county in which polling or surveying of voters is to take place shall notify the precinct election officers of each precinct at which the activity is to take place and shall ensure that all precinct election officers are aware of the provisions of sections 3 through 5 of this act.  Precinct election officers shall immediately notify the county auditor whenever polling or surveying of voters is being done without prior notification or whenever the activity is being conducted in a manner inconsistent with section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.     The county auditor shall investigate complaints received from precinct election officers regarding unauthorized or improper polling or surveying of voters.  If the auditor determines that unauthorized polling or surveying is being conducted, he or she shall take whatever action deemed appropriate to terminate the activity.  If the activity is authorized but is being conducted in an improper manner, the auditor shall ensure that the improper activity is terminated.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8.     A sheriff, deputy sheriff, or municipal law enforcement officer may enforce sections 3 through 7 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9.     Sections 4 through 8 of this act are added to chapter 29.51 RCW.