Recap: Election stuff passed by the '09 Legislature

April 28, 2009

It’s been two days since the Legislature finished its regular session, and the Leg Building is back to its empty, quiet self.

During 105 days in Olympia, the Legislature passed a bunch of elections-related bills this year. One would take us a step toward allocating Washington’s electoral votes for President and VP based on the national popular vote winner instead of which ticket received the most votes in our state. Other bills range from reducing the number of special elections in a year to reducing elections costs. As the guv ponders when to bring back legislators for a special session to tie up some budget-related loose ends, now is a good time to give a recap on the elections-related bills that were approved by the Legislature this year. (Kudos to Elections Division staffer Joanie Deutsch for compiling this update.) Special Elections- HB 1018 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill reduces the number of Special Elections. The final bill that passed allows for three special election dates until May 2011. The third May special election is only for levies that previously failed the same calendar year and new bond issues only. After the May Special Election in 2011, there will only be two special election dates in February and April. Ballots to Inactives - SB 5017 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill eliminates the requirement that a county auditor send inactive voters a ballot or ballot application. Voter Registration - SB 5270 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill does a variety of things: • The definition of an “infamous crime” is clarified. • The definition of “service voter” is expanded to include any elector of the state of Washington who is a member of a reserve component of the armed forces. • References to “out-of-state voter” are removed. • “Identification notice” is defined as a notice sent to a provisionally-registered voter to confirm the applicant’s identity. • If the driver’s license number, state identification card number, or last four digits of the Social Security number provided by an applicant do not match the information maintained by the Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) or the Social Security Administration (SSA), or if the applicant does not provide a Washington driver’s license, Washington state ID card, or a Social Security number, the applicant must be provisionally registered to vote. • An identification notice must be sent to the voter to obtain the correct driver’s license number, state ID number, last four digits of the Social Security number, or the voter must provide alternative ID enumerated in the bill. • The ballot of a provisionally-registered voter may not be counted until the voter provides a driver’s license number, a state ID number, or the last four digits of a Social Security number that matches the information maintained by the Washington DOL or the SSA, or until the voter provides alternative identification. The identification must be provided no later than the day before certification of the primary or election. • The requirement that county auditors send an acknowledgement notice identifying a registrant’s precinct within 45 days of receipt of an application or transfer is changed to 60 days. • A person or organization that collects voter registration applications must transmit the forms to the Secretary of State within five business days. • A person seeking to vote at any primary, special, or general election must submit an application not later than 29 days before the election or register in-person at the county auditor’s office in that person’s county of residence no later than eight days before the election. An existing registration may be updated no later than 29 days before an election. • The definition of “political purpose” is moved to 29A.08.720. Candidate Filing - SB 5271 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill eliminates the option to file a declaration of candidacy with the Secretary of State for candidates for single-county offices. It also eliminates the filing fee requirement for declarations of candidacy for precinct committee officers. Felon Vote Restoration - HB 1517 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill restores the right to vote to persons convicted of a felony in a Washington State Court when he or she ceases to be under the authority of the Department of Corrections. If a person fails to repay legal financial obligations timely, the Prosecutor can bring an action in Superior Court to re-revoke the right to vote. Identifying Marks - SB 5359 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill prohibits election officials from entering into or extending a contract with a vendor if the contract allows the vendor to acquire an ownership interest in data or information pertaining to a voter, or any ballot. An election official may not mark a ballot or direct that a ballot be marked in a way that would identify a voter. A voter may mark their ballot in a way that would identify himself or herself and not have their ballot invalidated. Technical Corrections - SB 5327 Effective Date: April 16, 2009 This bill restores six-year terms for first-class school district board members so long as the district contains a first-class city and is located in a county with a population of 210,000 or more. In addition, the filing period for city elective positions in newly incorporated cities must be between 45 and 60 days prior to the primary election in which the initial elected officials are nominated. Reducing Election Costs - SB 6122 For the purposes of legal advertising, $160,000 is appropriated from the state General Fund. The requirement that the State Printer manage the RFP for the Voters’ Pamphlet is eliminated. The Secretary of State must review each county election office at least once every five years, rather than once every three years. Envelopes and instructions for overseas and service voters will be printed by county auditors instead of the Secretary of State, but the UOCAVA envelopes no longer have to include a voters’ pamphlet. Changing form of city government - HB 1066 Effective Date: February 18, 2009 This bill authorizes an optional municipal code city to hold a special election for the purpose of changing its form of government. Following a proposal for a change in the city’s form of government, initiated either through a voter petition or by the decision of a city council, a code city may decide the issue through a special election held prior to the next general election pursuant to the resolution of the council. Adding a Court of Appeals Judge - HB 1205 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill authorizes an additional judge position for Division II of the Court of Appeals. The number of judges authorized in Division II of the Court of Appeals is increased from seven to eight. The new judge position is allocated to District 2 of Division II, increasing the number of judge positions for District 2 to three. Prohibiting False Statements - HB 1286 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill clarifies that political advertising or electioneering communications that contain a false statement of material fact about a candidate for office must also be made with actual malice and be libelous or defamatory in nature to be a violation of the campaign laws in chapter RCW 42.17. It prohibits a candidate from making a defamatory or libelous statement about his or her opponent in the candidate’s statement submitted to the Secretary of State for inclusion in the voters’ pamphlet. Library District Annexations - HB 1291 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill amends the statute regarding annexation of cities and towns into rural library districts by increasing the maximum population from 100,000 to 300,000. Benton County District Court - SB 5102 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill allows for five district court judges to be elected in Benton County. District Court Judges - SB 5135 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill allows for 23 district judges elected in King County in 2009, 25 in 2010, and 26 in 2011. The number of district court judges in Spokane County will be reduced from ten to eight. Levies for Library Districts - SB 5355 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill allows for the maximum initial levy rate for the creation of a rural county library district to be included as part of the petition. If included in the petition, the proposed initial maximum levy rate must also be included in the ballot proposition. The initial levy rate may not exceed the rate limit set in statute or, if applicable, the initial maximum levy rate specified in the ballot proposition approved by the voters. Annexations for Fire Districts - SB 5426 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill authorizes a fire protection district to annex part of a city located in two counties. It also creates regulatory provisions governing a “partial city” annexation with respect to procedural requirements, elections, taxation, and the employment rights of fire department employees in the partial city subject to annexation. National Popular Vote - SB 5599 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill authorizes Washington to enter into an interstate agreement to allocate the state’s electoral votes for President and Vice President of the United States based on the national popular vote winner. It requires Washington to conduct a statewide popular election for President and Vice President of the United States and communicate the results of the election to other member states. It also requires presidential elector certifying officials to certify the appointment of the presidential electors of Washington based on the national popular vote winner. Voting in Special Districts - SB 5705 Effective Date: July 26, 2009 This bill creates a new category of special district consisting of those special flood control districts located in three or more counties. All registered voters within a three county district are qualified to vote in election and each may cast a single vote. Property ownership within a three county district is not a factor with respect to voting rights, thus eligible landowners are not entitled to cast two votes. An election in a three county district may be held on any date authorized by law and the holding of such election is not limited to the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years. One elections measure dealing with school levies (HB 1776) came close to being passed by the Legislature, but it ran out of time. However, there is talk that this could be one of the bills that Governor Gregoire wants addressed in a special session. This bill specifies that the Initiative 728 and Initiative 732 funding levels are included in the levy base as approved by the voters if each were fully implemented by the Legislature in previous and subsequent years. It allows districts to return to voters for additional levy authority in the middle of a levy period if the levy base is expanded by state or federal legislation.
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