BILL REQ. #:  S-0110.1 

Read first time 01/24/2007.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to procedures for the circumstance in which two or more candidates file for office and have the same or similar names; reenacting and amending RCW 29A.04.611; and adding a new section to chapter 29A.24 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 29A.24 RCW to read as follows:
     When, in the judgment of the filing officer, two or more candidates have filed for the same office whose names are so similar as to be confusing to voters, he or she shall differentiate all candidates for that office, including the candidates that do not have the same or similar names, by the inclusion of additional information in connection with each name that will appear on the ballot. Such differentiation may be made by the inclusion of each candidate's occupation, status as incumbent or challenger, or by any other means which, in the judgment of the filing officer, fairly and impartially distinguishes the candidates. The filing officer may solicit suggestions and input from the candidates to resolve the situation.

Sec. 2   RCW 29A.04.611 and 2006 c 207 s 1 and 2006 c 206 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     The secretary of state as chief election officer shall make reasonable rules in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW not inconsistent with the federal and state election laws to effectuate any provision of this title and to facilitate the execution of its provisions in an orderly, timely, and uniform manner relating to any federal, state, county, city, town, and district elections. To that end the secretary shall assist local election officers by devising uniform forms and procedures.
     In addition to the rule-making authority granted otherwise by this section, the secretary of state shall make rules governing the following provisions:
     (1) The maintenance of voter registration records;
     (2) The preparation, maintenance, distribution, review, and filing of precinct maps;
     (3) Standards for the design, layout, and production of ballots;
     (4) The examination and testing of voting systems for certification;
     (5) The source and scope of independent evaluations of voting systems that may be relied upon in certifying voting systems for use in this state;
     (6) Standards and procedures for the acceptance testing of voting systems by counties;
     (7) Standards and procedures for testing the programming of vote tallying software for specific primaries and elections;
     (8) Standards and procedures for the preparation and use of each type of certified voting system including procedures for the operation of counting centers where vote tallying systems are used;
     (9) Standards and procedures to ensure the accurate tabulation and canvassing of ballots;
     (10) Consistency among the counties of the state in the preparation of ballots, the operation of vote tallying systems, and the canvassing of primaries and elections;
     (11) Procedures to ensure the secrecy of a voter's ballot when a small number of ballots are counted at the polls or at a counting center;
     (12) The use of substitute devices or means of voting when a voting device at the polling place is found to be defective, the counting of votes cast on the defective device, the counting of votes cast on the substitute device, and the documentation that must be submitted to the county auditor regarding such circumstances;
     (13) Procedures for the transportation of sealed containers of voted ballots or sealed voting devices;
     (14) The acceptance and filing of documents via electronic facsimile;
     (15) Voter registration applications and records;
     (16) The use of voter registration information in the conduct of elections;
     (17) The coordination, delivery, and processing of voter registration records accepted by driver licensing agents or the department of licensing;
     (18) The coordination, delivery, and processing of voter registration records accepted by agencies designated by the governor to provide voter registration services;
     (19) Procedures to receive and distribute voter registration applications by mail;
     (20) Procedures for a voter to change his or her voter registration address within a county by telephone;
     (21) Procedures for a voter to change the name under which he or she is registered to vote;
     (22) Procedures for canceling dual voter registration records and for maintaining records of persons whose voter registrations have been canceled;
     (23) Procedures for the electronic transfer of voter registration records between county auditors and the office of the secretary of state;
     (24) Procedures and forms for declarations of candidacy;
     (25) Procedures and requirements for the acceptance and filing of declarations of candidacy by electronic means;
     (26) ((Procedures for the circumstance in which two or more candidates have a name similar in sound or spelling so as to cause confusion for the voter;
     (27))) Filing for office;
     (((28))) (27) The order of positions and offices on a ballot;
     (((29))) (28) Sample ballots;
     (((30))) (29) Independent evaluations of voting systems;
     (((31))) (30) The testing, approval, and certification of voting systems;
     (((32))) (31) The testing of vote tallying software programming;
     (((33))) (32) Standards and procedures to prevent fraud and to facilitate the accurate processing and canvassing of absentee ballots and mail ballots, including standards for the approval and implementation of hardware and software for automated signature verification systems;
     (((34))) (33) Standards and procedures to guarantee the secrecy of absentee ballots and mail ballots;
     (((35))) (34) Uniformity among the counties of the state in the conduct of absentee voting and mail ballot elections;
     (((36))) (35) Standards and procedures to accommodate out-of-state voters, overseas voters, and service voters;
     (((37))) (36) The tabulation of paper ballots before the close of the polls;
     (((38))) (37) The accessibility of polling places and registration facilities that are accessible to elderly and disabled persons;
     (((39))) (38) The aggregation of precinct results if reporting the results of a single precinct could jeopardize the secrecy of a person's ballot;
     (((40))) (39) Procedures for conducting a statutory recount;
     (((41))) (40) Procedures for filling vacancies in congressional offices if the general statutory time requirements for availability of absentee ballots, certification, canvassing, and related procedures cannot be met;
     (((42))) (41) Procedures for the statistical sampling of signatures for purposes of verifying and canvassing signatures on initiative, referendum, and recall election petitions;
     (((43))) (42) Standards and deadlines for submitting material to the office of the secretary of state for the voters' pamphlet;
     (((44))) (43) Deadlines for the filing of ballot titles for referendum bills and constitutional amendments if none have been provided by the legislature;
     (((45))) (44) Procedures for the publication of a state voters' pamphlet;
     (((46))) (45) Procedures for conducting special elections regarding nuclear waste sites if the general statutory time requirements for availability of absentee ballots, certification, canvassing, and related procedures cannot be met;
     (((47))) (46) Procedures for conducting partisan primary elections;
     (((48))) (47) Standards and procedures for the proper conduct of voting during the early voting period to provide accessability for the blind or visually impaired;
     (((49))) (48) Standards for voting technology and systems used by the state or any political subdivision to be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and independence, as other voters;
     (((50))) (49) All data formats for transferring voter registration data on electronic or machine-readable media for the purpose of administering the statewide voter registration list required by the Help America Vote Act (P.L. 107-252);
     (((51))) (50) Defining the interaction of electronic voter registration election management systems employed by each county auditor to maintain a local copy of each county's portion of the official state list of registered voters;
     (((52))) (51) Provisions and procedures to implement the state-based administrative complaint procedure as required by the Help America Vote Act (P.L. 107-252);
     (((53))) (52) Facilitating the payment of local government grants to local government election officers or vendors; and
     (((54))) (53) Standards for the verification of signatures on absentee, mail, and provisional ballot envelopes.