H-2541.1

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 4212

State of Washington
69th Legislature
2026 Regular Session
ByRepresentatives Rude, Abell, Volz, and Walen
Read first time 01/14/26.Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations.
BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:
THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state the secretary of state shall submit to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to Article II, section 15 of the Constitution of the state of Washington to read as follows:
Article II, section 15. Such vacancies as may occur in either house of the legislature or in any partisan county elective office shall be filled by appointment by the county legislative authority of the county in which the vacancy occurs: Provided, That the person appointed to fill the vacancy must be from the same legislative district, county, or county commissioner or council district and, only if the elective officer whose office has been vacated declared a political party preference at the time they were elected to the legislative office or partisan county office, the appointee must be from the same political party as the legislator or partisan county elective officer whose office has been vacated((,)) and shall be one of three persons who shall be nominated by the county central committee of that party if applicable, and in case a majority of the members of the county legislative authority do not agree upon the appointment within sixty days after the vacancy occurs, the governor shall within thirty days thereafter, and from the list of nominees provided for herein if applicable, appoint a person who shall be from the same legislative district, county, or county commissioner or council district and, if applicable, of the same political party as the legislator or partisan county elective officer whose office has been vacated, and the person so appointed shall hold office until his or her successor is elected at the next general election, and has qualified: Provided, That in case of a vacancy occurring after the general election in a year that the office appears on the ballot and before the start of the next term, the term of the successor who, if applicable, is of the same party as the incumbent may commence once he or she has qualified and shall continue through the term for which he or she was elected: Provided, That in case of a vacancy occurring in the office of joint senator, or joint representative, the vacancy shall be filled from a list of three nominees selected by the state central committees of the same party as the legislator whose office has been vacated only if such legislator declared a political party at the time they were elected to that legislative office, by appointment by the joint action of the boards of county legislative authorities of the counties composing the joint senatorial or joint representative district, the person appointed to fill the vacancy must be from the same legislative district and, if applicable, of the same political party as the legislator whose office has been vacated, and in case a majority of the members of the county legislative authority do not agree upon the appointment within sixty days after the vacancy occurs, the governor shall within thirty days thereafter, and from the list of nominees provided for herein if applicable, appoint a person who shall be from the same legislative district and, if applicable, of the same political party as the legislator whose office has been vacated.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the secretary of state shall cause notice of this constitutional amendment to be published at least four times during the four weeks next preceding the election in every legal newspaper in the state.
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