FINAL BILL REPORT
SSB 5208
C 363 L 23
Synopsis as Enacted
Brief Description: Updating the process for online voter registration by allowing voter applicants to provide the last four digits of social security number for authentication.
Sponsors: Senate Committee on State Government & Elections (originally sponsored by Senators Trudeau, King, Hunt, Nobles, Randall, Keiser, Kuderer, Lovick, Salda?a, Hasegawa, Liias, Conway, Frame, Nguyen, Pedersen, Stanford, Valdez, Wellman and Wilson, C.; by request of Secretary of State).
Senate Committee on State Government & Elections
House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations
House Committee on Appropriations
Background:

Registering to Vote.  Persons who are age 18 or older and who are United States citizens that have lived in the state, county, and precinct for 30 days immediately preceding an election are entitled to vote.  To register to vote, a person must provide a name, traditional or nontraditional residential address, date of birth, signature attesting the truth of the information provided, and an indication of United States citizenship.  The Secretary of State's website also offers electronic voter registration.  A person seeking to register electronically must have a valid Washington State driver's license, state identification card, or tribal identification card so the Secretary of State may obtain a copy of the person's signature.

 

Confirmation Notices.  Elections officials place a voter on inactive status and send confirmation notices if receiving information from the United States Postal Service, Department of Licensing, or another agency providing voter registration services that the voter has moved, or documents mailed by the county auditor to the voter are returned as undeliverable.  Confirmation notices are mailed to all addresses where mail could reasonably be expected to be received by the voter, and include a pre-paid, pre-addressed form for the voter to confirm their accurate address information.  The voter is returned to active status and their registration address is updated upon return of the confirmation notice.

Summary:

An online applicant to register to vote may use the last four digits of their social security number to verify their identity.  An online applicant to register to vote not using Washington State-issued identification to verify their identity must submit a signature image to the Secretary of State, or as part of the confirmation notice process.

Votes on Final Passage:
Senate 29 18
House 58 40 (House amended)
Senate 27 18 (Senate concurred)
Effective:

July 15, 2024