BILL REQ. #:  Z-0549.1 

Read first time 02/03/2005.   Referred to Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability.

     AN ACT Relating to voter registration procedures; amending RCW 29A.08.010, 29A.08.030, 29A.08.107, 29A.08.110, 29A.08.115, 29A.08.145, 29A.08.520, 29A.08.651, and 29A.08.775; repealing RCW 29A.08.155; and providing an effective date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 29A.08.010 and 2004 c 267 s 102 are each amended to read as follows:
     As used in this chapter: "Information required for voter registration" means the minimum information provided on a voter registration application that is required by the county auditor in order to place a voter registration applicant on the voter registration rolls. This information includes ((the applicant's)):
     (1) Name((, complete residence));
     (2) Residential address((,));
     (3) Date of birth((,));
     (4) Washington state driver's license number, Washington state identification card, or the last four digits of the applicant's Social Security number((,));
     (5) A signature attesting to the truth of the information provided on the application((,)); and
     (6) A check or indication in the box confirming the individual is a United States citizen.
     If the individual does not have a driver's license, state identification card, or Social Security number, the registrant must be issued a unique voter registration number ((and)) in order to be placed on the voter registration rolls. All other information supplied is ancillary and not to be used as grounds for not registering an applicant to vote. Modification of the language of the official Washington state voter registration form by the voter will not be accepted and will cause the rejection of the registrant's application.

Sec. 2   RCW 29A.08.030 and 2004 c 267 s 104 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions set forth in this section apply throughout this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Verification notice" means a notice sent by the county auditor or secretary of state to a voter registration applicant and is used to verify or collect information about the applicant in order to complete the registration.
     (2) "Acknowledgement notice" means a notice sent by nonforwardable mail by the county auditor or secretary of state to a registered voter to acknowledge a voter registration transaction, which can include initial registration, transfer, or reactivation of an inactive registration. An acknowledgement notice may be a voter registration card.
     (3) "Confirmation notice" means a notice sent to a registered voter by first class forwardable mail at the address indicated on the voter's permanent registration record and to any other address at which the county auditor or secretary of state could reasonably expect mail to be received by the voter in order to confirm the voter's residence address. The confirmation notice must be designed ((so that the voter may update his or her current residence address)) to include a postage prepaid, preaddressed return form by which the registrant may verify the address information.

Sec. 3   RCW 29A.08.107 and 2004 c 267 s 106 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The secretary of state must review the information provided by each voter registration applicant to ensure that either the driver's license number or the last four digits of the social security number match the information maintained by the Washington department of licensing or the social security administration. If a match cannot be made the secretary of state or county auditor must correspond with the applicant to resolve the discrepancy.
     (2) If the applicant fails to respond to any correspondence required in this section to confirm information provided on a voter registration application((,)) within ((thirty)) forty-five days, the ((secretary of state shall forward the application to the appropriate county auditor for document storage)) applicant will not be registered to vote.
     (3) Only after the secretary of state has confirmed that an applicant's driver's license number or the last four digits of the applicant's social security number match existing records with the Washington department of licensing or the social security administration or determined that the applicant does not have either a driver's license number or social security number may the applicant be placed on the official list of registered voters.

Sec. 4   RCW 29A.08.110 and 2004 c 267 s 107 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) On receipt of an application for voter registration, the county auditor shall review the application to determine whether the information supplied is complete. An application is considered complete only if it contains the applicant's name, complete valid residence address, date of birth, and signature attesting to the truth of the information provided and an indication the license information or social security number has been confirmed by the secretary of state. If it is not complete, the auditor shall promptly mail a verification notice of the deficiency to the applicant. This verification notice shall require the applicant to provide the missing information. If the verification notice is not returned by the applicant or is returned as undeliverable the auditor shall not place the name of the applicant on the county voter list. If the applicant provides the required verified information, the applicant shall be registered to vote as of the date of mailing of the original voter registration application.
     (2) In order to prevent duplicate registration records, all complete voter registration applications must be screened against existing voter registration records in the official statewide voter registration list. If a match of an existing record is found in the official list the record must be updated with the new information provided on the application. If the new information indicates that the voter has changed his or her county of residence, the application must be forwarded to the voter's new county of residence for processing. If the new information indicates that the voter remains in the same county of residence or if the applicant is a new voter the application must be processed by the county of residence.
     (3) If the information required in subsection (1) of this section is complete, the applicant is considered to be registered to vote as of the date of mailing or date of delivery, whichever is applicable. The auditor shall record the appropriate precinct identification, taxing district identification, and date of registration on the voter's record in the state voter registration list. Within forty-five days after the receipt of an application but no later than seven days before the next primary, special election, or general election, the auditor shall send to the applicant, by first class mail, an acknowledgement notice identifying the registrant's precinct and containing such other information as may be required by the secretary of state. The postal service shall be instructed not to forward a voter registration card to any other address and to return to the auditor any card which is not deliverable. If the registrant has indicated on the form that he or she is registered to vote within the county but has provided a new address within the county that is for voter registration purposes, the auditor shall transfer the voter's registration.
     (4) If an acknowledgement notice card is properly mailed as required by this section to the address listed by the voter as being the voter's mailing address and the notice is subsequently returned to the auditor by the postal service as being undeliverable to the voter at that address, the auditor shall promptly send the voter a confirmation notice. The auditor shall place the voter's registration on inactive status pending a response from the voter to the confirmation notice.

Sec. 5   RCW 29A.08.115 and 2004 c 267 s 108 are each amended to read as follows:
     A person or organization collecting voter registration application forms must transmit the forms to the secretary of state or a ((designee)) county auditor at least once weekly. The registration date on such forms will be the date they are received by the secretary of state or county auditor.

Sec. 6   RCW 29A.08.145 and 2004 c 267 s 113 are each amended to read as follows:
     This section establishes a special procedure which an elector may use to register to vote or transfer a voter registration by changing his or her address during the period beginning after the closing of registration for voting at the polls under RCW 29A.08.140 and ending on the fifteenth day before a primary, special election, or general election. A qualified elector in the state may register to vote or change his or her registration address in person in the office of the county auditor of the county in which the applicant resides, or at a voter registration location specifically designated for this purpose by the ((county auditor of the county in which the applicant resides)) secretary of state, and apply for an absentee ballot for that primary or election. The auditor or registration assistant shall register that individual in the manner provided in this chapter. The application for an absentee ballot executed by the newly registered or transferred voter for the primary or election that follows the execution of the registration shall be promptly transmitted to the auditor with the completed voter registration form.

Sec. 7   RCW 29A.08.520 and 2004 c 267 s 126 are each amended to read as follows:
     Upon receiving official notice of a person's conviction of a felony in either state or federal court, if the convicted person is a registered voter in the county, the county auditor shall cancel the defendant's voter registration. Additionally, the secretary of state in conjunction with the department of corrections and other appropriate state agencies shall arrange for a periodic comparison of a list of known felons with the statewide voter registration list. If a person is found on the ((department of corrections)) felon list and the statewide voter registration list, the secretary of state or county auditor shall confirm the match through a date of birth comparison and cancel the voter registration from the official state voter registration list. The canceling authority shall send notice of the proposed cancellation to the person at his or her last known voter registration address.

Sec. 8   RCW 29A.08.651 and 2004 c 267 s 101 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the secretary of state shall create and maintain a statewide voter registration data base. This data base must be a single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and administered at the state level that contains the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state and assigns a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state.
     (2) The computerized list must serve as the single system for storing and maintaining the official list of registered voters throughout the state.
     (3) The computerized list must contain the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state.
     (4) Under the computerized list, a unique identifier is assigned to each legally registered voter in the state.
     (5) The computerized list must be coordinated with other agency data bases within the state, including but not limited to the department of corrections, the department of licensing, and the department of health.
     (6) Any election officer in the state, including any local election officer, may obtain immediate electronic access to the information contained in the computerized list.
     (7) All voter registration information obtained by any local election officer in the state must be electronically entered into the computerized list on an expedited basis at the time the information is provided to the local officer.
     (8) The chief state election officer shall provide support, as may be required, so that local election officers are able to enter information as described in subsection (3) of this section.
     (9) The computerized list serves as the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections.
     (10) The secretary of state has data authority on all voter registration data.
     (11) The voter registration data base must be designed to accomplish at a minimum, the following:
     (a) Comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-252);
     (b) Identify duplicate voter registrations;
     (c) Identify suspected duplicate voters;
     (d) Screen against the department of corrections and other appropriate state agency data bases to aid in the cancellation of voter registration of felons;
     (e) Provide up-to-date signatures of voters for the purposes of initiative signature checking;
     (f) Provide for a comparison between the voter registration data base and the department of licensing change of address data base;
     (g) Provide online access for county auditors with the goal of real time duplicate checking and update capabilities; and
     (h) Provide for the cancellation of voter registration for persons who have moved to other states and surrendered their Washington state drivers' licenses.

Sec. 9   RCW 29A.08.775 and 2004 c 267 s 136 are each amended to read as follows:
     Only voters who appear on the official statewide voter registration list are eligible to participate in elections. Each county shall maintain a copy of that county's portion of the state list. The county must ensure that data used for the production of poll lists and other lists and mailings done in the administration of each election are ((drawn from)) the same as the official statewide voter registration list.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   RCW 29A.08.155 (Payment for maintenance of electronic records) and 2004 c 267 s 114 & 2003 c 111 s 215 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   This act takes effect January 1, 2006.