BILL REQ. #:  H-4333.1 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs.

     AN ACT Relating to voters' pamphlets; amending RCW 29A.32.036, 29A.32.210, 29A.32.241, and 29A.32.250; and adding new sections to chapter 29A.32 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 29A.32.036 and 2004 c 271 s 122 are each amended to read as follows:
     If the secretary of state prints and distributes a voters' pamphlet for a primary in an even-numbered year, it must contain:
     (1) A description of the office of precinct committee officer and its duties;
     (2) An explanation that, for partisan offices, only voters who choose to affiliate with a major political party may vote in that party's primary election, and that voters must limit their participation in a partisan primary to one political party; ((and))
     (3) An explanation that minor political party candidates and independent candidates will appear only on the general election ballot; and
     (4) Candidates' statements, if submitted, advocating the candidacies of nominees for justice of the supreme court, and judge of the court of appeals. Submitted statements must be factual and neutral. 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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   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 primary voters' pamphlet that contains information on all judicial elections being conducted in the primary election. Judicial candidates must be allowed to submit statements advocating their candidacies. Candidates may also submit a campaign mailing address, telephone number, web site, electronic mail address, and a digital photograph of a size and quality that the secretary of state determines to be suitable for reproduction in the electronic primary voters' pamphlet.

Sec. 3   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, information on all judicial candidates within that jurisdiction, and may, if specified in the ordinance, include information on nonjudicial candidates within that jurisdiction. 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.

Sec. 4   RCW 29A.32.241 and 2004 c 271 s 123 are each amended to read as follows:
     The local voters' pamphlet shall include but not be limited to the following:
     (1) Appearing on the cover, the words "official local voters' pamphlet," the name of the jurisdiction producing the pamphlet, and the date of the election or primary;
     (2) A list of jurisdictions that have measures or candidates in the pamphlet;
     (3) Statements from judicial candidates within that jurisdiction and may include their photographs;
     (4) Information on how a person may register to vote and obtain an absentee ballot;
     (((4))) (5) The text of each measure accompanied by an explanatory statement prepared by the prosecuting attorney for any county measure or by the attorney for the jurisdiction submitting the measure if other than a county measure. All explanatory statements for city, town, or district measures not approved by the attorney for the jurisdiction submitting the measure shall be reviewed and approved by the county prosecuting attorney or city attorney, when applicable, before inclusion in the pamphlet;
     (((5))) (6) The arguments for and against each measure submitted by committees selected pursuant to RCW 29A.32.280; and
     (((6))) (7) For partisan primary elections, information on how to vote the applicable ballot format and an explanation that minor political party candidates and independent candidates will appear only on the general election ballot.

Sec. 5   RCW 29A.32.250 and 2003 c 111 s 817 are each amended to read as follows:
     If the legislative authority of a county or first-class or code city provides for the inclusion of candidates in the local voters' pamphlet, the pamphlet shall include the statements from candidates, including judicial candidates, and may also include those candidates' photographs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 29A.32 RCW to read as follows:
     Each county auditor must make available on the county's web site an electronic primary voters' pamphlet that contains information on all judicial elections within its jurisdiction being conducted in the primary election. Judicial candidates must be allowed to submit statements advocating their candidacies. Candidates may also submit a campaign mailing address, telephone number, web site, electronic mail address, and a digital photograph of a size and quality that the county auditor determines to be suitable for reproduction in the electronic primary voters' pamphlet.