S-4893               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 6731

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Governmental Operations (originally sponsored by Senators McCaslin and Sutherland)

Read first time 2/2/90.

AN ACT Relating to including absentee ballots in voter abstracts; amending RCW 29.62.090 and 29.36.070; and making an appropriation.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 29.62.090, chapter 9, Laws of 1965 as amended by section 96, chapter 361, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. and RCW 29.62.090 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Immediately after the official results of a state primary or general election in ((his)) a county are ascertained, the county auditor or other election officer shall make an abstract of the number of registered voters in each precinct and of all the votes cast in ((his)) the county at such state primary or general election for and against state measures and for each candidate for federal, state, and legislative office or for any other office which the secretary of state is required by law to canvass.  The abstract shall be entered on blanks furnished by the secretary of state or on compatible computer printouts approved by the secretary of state, and transmitted to the secretary of state no later than the next business day following the certification by the county canvassing board.

(2) After each general election in an even-numbered year, the county auditor or other election officer shall provide to the secretary of state a report of the number of absentee ballots cast in each precinct for and against state measures and for each candidate for federal, state, and legislative office or for any other office which the secretary of state is required by law to canvass.  The report may be included in the abstract required by this section or may be transmitted to the secretary of state separately, but in no event later than March 31 of the year following the election.  Absentee ballot results may be incorporated into votes cast at the polls for each precinct or may be reported separately on a precinct by precinct basis.

(3) If absentee ballot results are not incorporated into votes cast at the polls, the county auditor or other election official may aggregate results from more than one precinct if the auditor, pursuant to rules adopted by the secretary of state, finds that reporting a single precinct's absentee ballot results would jeopardize the secrecy of a person's ballot.  To the extent practicable, precincts for which absentee results are aggregated shall be contiguous.

        Sec. 2.  Section 29.36.070, chapter 9, Laws of 1965 as last amended by section 15, chapter 346, Laws of 1987 and RCW 29.36.070 are each amended to read as follows:

          The absentee ballots shall be grouped and counted by congressional and legislative district without regard to precinct, except as required under RCW 29.62.090(2).

          These returns shall be added to the total of the votes cast at ((all)) the polling places.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     The sum of .......... dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, from the general fund to the secretary of state, for the purposes of this act.