OLYMPIA — The Office of Secretary of State, in partnership with the Washington Voting Rights Restoration Coalition, is helping celebrate the restoration of voting rights for Washingtonians with past felony convictions.
The “Free the Vote” murals painted in Spokane, Yakima, and Tacoma raise public awareness of the restoration of voting rights for people convicted of felonies who are not serving a sentence of total confinement. House Bill 1078, which passed in 2021, automatically restored the right to register and vote for all eligible Washingtonians who are not incarcerated, effective Jan. 1, 2022.
The new mural installations commemorate this historic development and are being celebrated with community events across the state: Spokane Sept. 19, Yakima Sept. 23, and Tacoma Sept. 30. The Office of the Secretary of State and local elections offices are providing voter registration opportunities and other civic engagement at each event to raise awareness of the upcoming Nov. 7 General Election.
Event schedules and locations:
Yakima: Sept. 23, 2-6 p.m., 298 S. Front Street.
Tacoma: Sept. 30, 2-6 p.m., 5401 S. Tacoma Way.
More information about these events and the murals can be found at https://www.freethevotewa.org/murals
Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees a number of areas within state government, including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office also manages the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, oversees the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees, and administers the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.