BILL REQ. #:  H-5334.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/05/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to voters' pamphlets; amending RCW 29A.32.010, 29A.32.031, 29A.32.110, and 29A.32.210; and adding new sections to chapter 29A.32 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 29A.32.010 and 2003 c 111 s 801 are each amended to read as follows:
     The secretary of state shall, whenever at least one statewide measure or office is scheduled to appear on the general election ballot, print and distribute a voters' pamphlet.
     The secretary of state shall distribute the voters' pamphlet to each household in the state, to public libraries, and to any other locations he or she deems appropriate. The secretary of state shall also produce taped or Braille transcripts of the voters' pamphlet, publicize their availability, and mail without charge a copy to any person who requests one.
     The secretary of state ((may)) shall make the material required to be distributed by this chapter available to the public ((in electronic form)) on his or her web site. The secretary of state may provide ((the)) material in electronic form to computer bulletin boards, print and broadcast news media, community computer networks, and similar services at the cost of reproduction or transmission of the data.

Sec. 2   RCW 29A.32.031 and 2008 c 1 s 12 (Initiative Measure No. 960) are each amended to read as follows:
     The voters' pamphlet must contain:
     (1) Information about each measure for an advisory vote of the people and each ballot measure initiated by or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection as required by RCW 29A.32.070;
     (2) In even-numbered years, statements, if submitted, advocating the candidacies of nominees for the office of president and vice president of the United States, United States senator, United States representative, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, attorney general, commissioner of public lands, superintendent of public instruction, insurance commissioner, state senator, state representative, justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of appeals, or judge of the superior court. Candidates may also submit a campaign mailing address and telephone number and a photograph not more than five years old and of a size and quality that the secretary of state determines to be suitable for reproduction in the voters' pamphlet. Candidates are encouraged to submit digital photographs and statements electronically;
     (3) In odd-numbered years, if any office voted upon statewide appears on the ballot due to a vacancy, then statements and photographs for candidates for any vacant office listed in subsection (2) of this section must appear;
     (4) In even-numbered years, a section explaining how voters may participate in the election campaign process; the address and telephone number of the public disclosure commission established under RCW 42.17.350; and a summary of the disclosure requirements that apply when contributions are made to candidates and political committees;
     (5) In even-numbered years the name, address, and telephone number of each political party with nominees listed in the pamphlet, if filed with the secretary of state by the state committee of a major political party or the presiding officer of the convention of a minor political party;
     (6) In each odd-numbered year immediately before a year in which a president of the United States is to be nominated and elected, information explaining the precinct caucus and convention process used by each major political party to elect delegates to its national presidential candidate nominating convention. The pamphlet must also provide a description of the statutory procedures by which minor political parties are formed and the statutory methods used by the parties to nominate candidates for president;
     (7) An application form for an absentee ballot;
     (8) A brief statement explaining the deletion and addition of language for proposed measures under RCW 29A.32.080;
     (9) Any additional information pertaining to elections as may be required by law or in the judgment of the secretary of state is deemed informative to the voters.

Sec. 3   RCW 29A.32.110 and 2003 c 111 s 811 are each amended to read as follows:
     All photographs of candidates submitted for publication must conform to standards established by the secretary of state by rule. Candidates are encouraged to submit digital photographs and statements electronically. No photograph may reveal clothing or insignia suggesting the holding of a public office.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 29A.32 RCW to read as follows:
     The secretary of state must make available on its web site an electronic voters' pamphlet for every primary election and general election in which any office listed under RCW 29A.32.031 is scheduled to appear on the primary or general election ballot, including any office appearing on the ballot due to a vacancy. The information included in the electronic voters' pamphlet shall conform to the requirements of this chapter.

Sec. 5   RCW 29A.32.210 and 2003 c 111 s 813 are each amended to read as follows:
     At least ninety days before any primary or general election, or at least forty days before any special election held under RCW ((29A.04.320)) 29A.04.321 or 29A.04.330, the legislative authority of any county or first-class or code city may adopt an ordinance authorizing the publication and distribution of a local voters' pamphlet. The pamphlet shall provide information on all measures ((within that jurisdiction and may, if specified in the ordinance, include information on)) and candidates within that jurisdiction, including judicial candidates. If both a county and a first-class or code city within that county authorize a local voters' pamphlet for the same election, the pamphlet shall be produced jointly by the county and the first-class or code city. If no agreement can be reached between the county and first-class or code city, the county and first-class or code city may each produce a pamphlet. Any ordinance adopted authorizing a local voters' pamphlet may be for a specific primary, special election, or general election or for any future primaries or elections. The format of any local voters' pamphlet shall, whenever applicable, comply with the provisions of this chapter regarding the publication of the state candidates' and voters' pamphlets.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 29A.32 RCW to read as follows:
     Each county elections department must make available on the county's web site a primary voters' pamphlet and a general election voters' pamphlet any time in which any office within that county not covered in RCW 29A.32.031 is scheduled to appear on the primary or general election ballot, including judicial office and any office on the ballot due to a vacancy. The electronic voters' pamphlets shall include information on all measures within that jurisdiction and candidates' statements and photographs. Candidates' statements may not be more than one hundred fifty words. The information included in the electronic voters' pamphlets shall conform to the requirements of this chapter. Candidates are encouraged to submit digital photographs and statements electronically. If the secretary of state has candidate information required under RCW 29A.32.031 that is applicable to the county, the county shall use the secretary of state's information or provide a link from the county's electronic voters' pamphlet to the secretary of state's electronic voters' pamphlet.