AN
ACT Relating to write-in voting; and amending RCW 29.04.180, 29.15.050,
29.62.180, and 29.54.050.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
29.04.180 and 1995 c 158 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
Any
person who desires to be a write-in candidate and have such votes counted at a
primary or election may, if the jurisdiction of the office sought is entirely
within one county, file a declaration of candidacy with the county auditor not
later than the day before the primary or election. If the jurisdiction of the
office sought encompasses more than one county the declaration of candidacy
shall be filed with the secretary of state not later than the day before the
primary or election. Declarations of candidacy for write-in candidates must be
accompanied by a filing fee in the same manner as required of other candidates
filing for the office as provided in RCW 29.15.050.
Votes
cast for write-in candidates who have filed such declarations of candidacy and
write-in votes for persons appointed by political parties pursuant to RCW
29.18.160 need only specify the name of the candidate in the appropriate
location on the ballot in order to be counted. Write-in votes cast for any
other candidate, in order to be counted, must designate the office sought and
position number or political party, if applicable. In order for write-in
votes to be valid in jurisdictions employing optical-scan mark sense ballot
systems the voter must complete the proper mark next to the write-in line for
that office.
No
person may file as a write-in candidate where:
(1)
At a general election, the person attempting to file either filed as a write-in
candidate for the same office at the preceding primary or the person's name
appeared on the ballot for the same office at the preceding primary;
(2)
The person attempting to file as a write-in candidate has already filed a valid
write-in declaration for that primary or election, unless one or the other of
the two filings is for the office of precinct committeeperson;
(3)
The name of the person attempting to file already appears on the ballot as a
candidate for another office, unless one of the two offices for which he or she
is a candidate is precinct committeeperson.
The
declaration of candidacy shall be similar to that required by RCW 29.15.010.
No write-in candidate filing under RCW 29.04.180 may be included in any voter's
pamphlet produced under chapter 29.80 RCW unless that candidate qualifies to
have his or her name printed on the general election ballot. The legislative
authority of any jurisdiction producing a local voter's pamphlet under chapter
29.81A RCW may provide, by ordinance, for the inclusion of write-in candidates
in such pamphlets.
Sec.
2. RCW
29.15.050 and 1990 c 59 s 85 are each amended to read as follows:
A
filing fee of one dollar shall accompany each declaration of candidacy for
precinct committee officer; a filing fee of ten dollars shall accompany the
declaration of candidacy for any office with a fixed annual salary of one
thousand dollars or less; a filing fee equal to one percent of the annual
salary of the office at the time of filing shall accompany the declaration of
candidacy for any office with a fixed annual salary of more than one thousand
dollars per annum. No filing fee need accompany a declaration of candidacy for
any office for which compensation is on a per diem or per meeting attended
basis((, nor for the filing of any declaration of candidacy by a write-in
candidate)).
A
candidate who lacks sufficient assets or income at the time of filing to pay
the filing fee required by this section shall submit with his or her
declaration of candidacy a nominating petition. The petition shall contain not
less than a number of signatures of registered voters equal to the number of
dollars of the filing fee. The signatures shall be of voters registered to
vote within the jurisdiction of the office for which the candidate is filing.
When
the candidacy is for:
(1)
A legislative or judicial office that includes territory from more than one
county, the fee shall be paid to the secretary of state for equal division
between the treasuries of the counties comprising the district.
(2)
A city or town office, the fee shall be paid to the county auditor who shall
transmit it to the city or town clerk for deposit in the city or town treasury.
Sec.
3. RCW
29.62.180 and 1995 c 158 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
For any office at any election or primary, any voter may write in on the ballot
the name of any person for an office who has filed as a write-in candidate for
the office in the manner provided by RCW 29.04.180 and such vote shall be
counted the same as if the name had been printed on the ballot and marked by
the voter. No write-in vote made for any person who has not filed a
declaration of candidacy pursuant to RCW 29.04.180 is valid if that person
filed for the same office, either as a regular candidate or a write-in
candidate, at the preceding primary. Any abbreviation used to designate
office, position, or political party shall be accepted if the canvassing board
can determine, to their satisfaction, the voter's intent.
(2)
The number of write-in votes cast for each office must be recorded and reported
with the canvass for the election.
(3)
Write-in votes cast for an individual candidate for an office need not
be tallied if((, assuming all of these)) the total number of
write-in votes ((were)) cast for the ((same person)) office is
not greater than the number of votes cast for the candidate apparently
nominated or elected, and the write-in votes could not have altered
the outcome of the primary or election. In the case of write-in votes for
state-wide office or for any office whose jurisdiction encompasses more than
one county, write-in votes for an individual candidate must be tallied whenever
the county auditor is notified by either the office of the secretary of state
or another auditor in a multicounty jurisdiction that it appears that the write-in
votes could alter the outcome of the primary or election.
(4)
In the case of state-wide offices or jurisdictions that encompass more than one
county, if the total number of write-in votes cast for an office within a
county is greater than the number of votes cast for a candidate apparently
nominated or elected in a primary or election, the auditor shall tally all
write-in votes for individual candidates for that office and notify the office
of the secretary of state and the auditors of the other counties within the
jurisdiction, that the write-in votes for individual candidates should be
tallied.
Sec.
4. RCW
29.54.050 and 1990 c 59 s 56 are each amended to read as follows:
A
ballot is invalid and no votes on that ballot may be counted if it is found
folded together with another ballot; or, except for an absentee ballot, it is
marked so as to identify the voter.
Those parts of a ballot are invalid and no votes may be counted for
those issues or offices where more votes are cast for the office or issue than
are permitted by law; write-in votes do not contain all of the information
required under RCW ((29.51.170)) 29.62.180; or that issue or
office is not marked with sufficient definiteness to determine the voter's
choice or intention. No write-in vote may be rejected due to a variation in
the form of the name if the election board or the canvassing board can
determine the issue for or against which or the person and the office for which
the voter intended to vote.
