Election bills staying alive
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The Legislature is heading into the final weeks of the 2010 session, and election issues continue to move through the process.
Bills that cleared the House by a Tuesday deadline include:
- HB 2483 (which our office requested) allows military and overseas voters to send in their ballots via e-mail or fax. (96-0.)
- SHB 1572 forces Pierce County, the lone county in Washington that still uses poll voting, to use all-mail voting. (Passed 57-41.)
- HB 1880 removes the requirement that mail ballot return envelopes must have a secrecy flap to conceal the voter's signature and telephone number. (Approved 90-0.) (ESB 6430, a similar bill that was requested by County Auditors, passed the Senate 43-2.)
- HB 2495 allows ballots to be tabulated starting at 8 a.m. on the Monday before the Primary or General Election, and requires tabulation results be held for release until after 8 p.m. on the day of the primary or election. (93-3.)
- HB 2496 requires that ballots have a clear delineation between the instructions and where voting is to begin. (98-0.)
The Senate has passed these proposals:
- ESSB 6449 requires all signature gatherers to sign the declaration on initiative and referendum petitions, and requires paid signature gatherers who are collecting signatures for state and local initiatives, referenda or recall petitions to register with the Public Disclosure Commission. (Approved 29-19.)
- ESB 6754 declares that the names, addresses, and signatures of voters who signed initiative or referendum petitions are public records, and may be made available for public inspection and copying. (Passed 28-20.)
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Secretary of State
Steve Hobbs
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