An active registered voter is eligible to submit an absentee ballot request to the voter's county auditor if the voter:
Is or will be at least 65 years old on the date of the elections;
Has a disability or illness that prevents the voter from voting in person;
Is military personnel or a dependent of military personnel;
Is a student who temporarily resides outside the county;
Temporarily resides outside the state but maintains eligibility to vote in the state;
Is incarcerated but not yet convicted of a crime;
Is employed outside of the county during all hours the polling place is open; or
Participates in the address confidentiality program under chapter 40.24 RCW.
The county auditor must approve a request for an absentee ballot if the voter meets any of the criteria in subsection (1) of this section. The auditor may not approve requests for an absentee ballot in any other circumstances.
A voter's absentee ballot request must be sent to the voter's county auditor no earlier than 90 days nor later than the day before the election or primary at which the person seeks to vote. Except as otherwise provided by law, the request may be made orally in person, by telephone, electronically, or in writing. An application or request for an absentee ballot made under the authority of a federal statute or regulation will be considered and given the same effect as a request for an absentee ballot under this chapter.
A voter requesting an absentee ballot for a primary may also request an absentee ballot for the following general election. A request by an overseas voter or service voter for an absentee ballot for a primary election will also be considered as a request for an absentee ballot for the following general election.
In requesting an absentee ballot, the voter must state the address to which the absentee ballot should be sent. A request for a ballot from an overseas voter or service voter must include the address of the last residence in the state of Washington.
No person, organization, or association may distribute any absentee ballot materials that contain a return address other than that of the appropriate county auditor.
A special absentee ballot may not be requested more than ninety days before the applicable state primary or general election. The special absentee ballot will list the offices and measures, if known, scheduled to appear on the state primary or general election ballot. The voter may use the special absentee ballot to write in the name of any eligible candidate for each office and vote on any measure.
The county auditor shall include a listing of any candidates who have filed before the time of the application for offices that will appear on the ballot at that primary or election and a list of any issues that have been referred to the ballot before the time of the application.
Write-in votes on special absentee ballots must be counted in the same manner provided by law for the counting of other write-in votes. The county auditor shall process and canvass the special absentee ballots provided under this section in the same manner as other absentee ballots under this chapter and chapter 29A.60 RCW.
A voter who requests a special absentee ballot under this section may also request a regular absentee ballot. If the regular absentee ballot is properly voted and returned, the special absentee ballot is void, and the county auditor shall reject it in whole when special absentee ballots are canvassed.
Except where a recount or litigation is pending, the county auditor must mail absentee ballots to each voter for whom an absentee ballot request has been approved at least eighteen days before each primary or election, and as soon as possible for all subsequent absentee ballot requests and registration changes.
Except where a recount or litigation is pending, the county auditor must mail absentee ballots to each service and overseas voter for whom an absentee ballot request has been approved at least thirty days before each special election, and at least forty‑five days before each primary or general election, or any special election that involves federal office. A request for a ballot made by an overseas or service voter after that day must be processed immediately.
A registered voter may obtain a replacement absentee ballot if the ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received by the voter. The voter may obtain the replacement absentee ballot by telephone request, by mail, electronically, or in person. The county auditor shall keep a record of each request for a replacement absentee ballot.
Within 24 hours of mailing the absentee ballots, the county auditor shall certify to the office of the secretary of state the dates the ballots were mailed**. If the absentee ballots are not mailed at least 18 days before the election, the auditor must notify the secretary within 24 hours of** the reason for the delay and the date the ballots will be mailed . If the county auditor has not provided such information to the secretary by the Monday 15 days before the election, the secretary must contact the county auditor to inquire about the reason for the delay and the date that the auditor expects the absentee ballots will be sent.
Failure to mail absentee ballots as prescribed in this section does not by itself provide a basis for an election contest or other legal challenge to the results of a primary, general election, or special election.
For each voter whose absentee ballot request has been approved, the county auditor shall send the voter a ballot, a security envelope in which to conceal the ballot after voting, a larger envelope in which to return the security envelope, a declaration that the voter must sign, and instructions on how to obtain information about the election, how to mark the ballot, and how to return the ballot to the county auditor. The calendar date of the election must be prominently displayed in bold type, twenty-point font or larger, on the envelope sent to the voter containing the ballot and other materials listed in this subsection:
For all general elections in 2020 and after;
For all primary elections in 2021 and after; and
For all elections in 2022 and after.
The voter must swear under penalty of perjury that he or she meets the qualifications to vote, and has not voted in any other jurisdiction at this election. The declaration must clearly inform the voter that it is illegal to vote if he or she is not a United States citizen; it is illegal to vote if he or she has been convicted of a felony and has not had his or her voting rights restored; and it is illegal to cast a ballot or sign a ballot declaration on behalf of another voter. The absentee ballot materials must provide space for the voter to sign the declaration, indicate the date on which the ballot was voted, and include a telephone number.
Return envelopes for overseas and service voters must enable the absentee ballot to be returned postage free if mailed through the United States postal service, United States armed forces postal service, or the postal service of a United States foreign embassy under 39 U.S.C. 3406.
The voter must be instructed to either return the absentee ballot to the county auditor no later than 8:00 p.m. the day of the election or primary, or mail the absentee ballot to the county auditor with a postmark no later than the day of the election or primary. Return envelopes for all election ballots must include prepaid postage. Service and overseas voters must be provided with instructions and a privacy sheet for returning the ballot and signed declaration by fax or email. A voted ballot and signed declaration returned by fax or email must be received by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the election or primary.
The county auditor's name may not appear on the security envelope, the return envelope, or on any voting instructions or materials included with the absentee ballot if he or she is a candidate for office during the same year.
For purposes of this section, "prepaid postage" means any method of return postage paid by the county or state.
County auditors must request that observers be appointed by the major political parties to be present during the processing of ballots at polling places and counting centers. County auditors have discretion to also request that observers be appointed by any campaigns or organizations. The absence of the observers will not prevent the processing of ballots if the county auditor has requested their presence.
The opening and subsequent processing of return envelopes for any primary or election may begin upon receipt. The tabulation of absentee ballots must not commence until after 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election.
All received return envelopes must be placed in secure locations from the time of delivery to the county auditor until their subsequent opening. After opening the return envelopes, the county canvassing board shall place all of the ballots in secure storage until processing. Ballots may be taken from the inner envelopes and all the normal procedural steps may be performed to prepare these ballots for tabulation.
The canvassing board, or its designated representatives, shall examine the postmark on the return envelope and signature on the declaration before processing the ballot. The ballot must either be received no later than 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election, or must be postmarked no later than the day of the primary or election. All personnel assigned to verify signatures must receive training on statewide standards for signature verification. Personnel shall verify that the voter's signature on the ballot declaration is the same as the signature of that voter in the registration files of the county. Verification may be conducted by an automated verification system approved by the secretary of state. A variation between the signature of the voter on the ballot declaration and the signature of that voter in the registration files due to the substitution of initials or the use of common nicknames is permitted so long as the surname and handwriting are clearly the same.
If the postmark is missing or illegible, the date on the ballot declaration to which the voter has attested determines the validity, as to the time of voting, for that ballot. For overseas voters and service voters, the date on the declaration to which the voter has attested determines the validity, as to the time of voting, for that ballot. Any overseas voter or service voter may return the signed declaration and voted ballot by fax or email by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election, and the county auditor must use established procedures to maintain the secrecy of the ballot.
[ 2011 c 349 § 18; 2011 c 348 § 4; 2011 c 10 § 41; 2009 c 369 § 40; 2006 c 207 § 4; 2006 c 206 § 6; 2005 c 243 § 5; 2003 c 111 § 1011; prior: 2001 c 241 § 10; 1991 c 81 § 32; 1987 c 346 § 14; 1977 ex.s. c 361 § 78; 1973 c 140 § 1; 1965 c 9 § 29.36.060; prior: 1963 ex.s. c 23 § 5; 1955 c 167 § 7; 1955 c 50 § 2; prior: 1933 ex.s. c 41 § 5, part; 1921 c 143 § 6, part; 1917 c 159 § 4, part; 1915 c 189 § 4, part; RRS § 5285, part; ]
Each county auditor shall maintain in his or her office, open for public inspection, a record of all voters who have voted in person and all voters who have been issued an absentee ballot and all voters who returned an absentee ballot. For each primary, special election, or general election, any political party, committee, or person may request a list of all registered voters who have or have not voted. Such requests shall be handled as public records requests pursuant to chapter 42.56 RCW.
Each county auditor shall open a voting center each primary, special election, and general election. The voting center shall be open during business hours during the voting period, which begins eighteen days before, and ends at 8:00 p.m. on the day of, the primary, special election, or general election.
Each county auditor shall register voters in person at each of the following locations in the county:
At the county auditor's office;
At the division of elections, if located in a separate city from the county auditor's office; and
For each presidential general election, at a voting center in each city in the county with a population of one hundred thousand or greater, which does not have a voting center as required in (a) or (b) of this subsection. A voting center opened pursuant to this subsection (2) is not required to be open on the Sunday before the presidential election.
Voting centers shall be located in public buildings or buildings that are leased by a public entity including, but not limited to, libraries.
Each voting center, and at least one of the other locations designated by the county auditor to allow voters to register in person pursuant to RCW 29A.08.140(1)(b), must provide voter registration materials, information about polling places in the county, information about requesting an absentee ballot, disability access voting units, sample ballots, an absentee ballot drop box, and voters' pamphlets, if a voters' pamphlet has been published.
Each voting center must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Each state agency and entity of local government shall permit the use of any of its accessible facilities as voting centers when requested by a county auditor.
6.
For each primary, special election, and general election, the county auditor may provide election services at locations in addition to the voting center. The county auditor has discretion to establish which services will be provided at the additional locations, and which days and hours the locations will be open.
The county auditor may establish drop boxes to collect absentee ballots. The county auditor must prevent overflow of each ballot drop box to allow a voter to deposit his or her absentee ballot securely. Ballots must be removed from a ballot drop box by at least two people, with a record kept of the date and time ballots were removed, and the names of people removing them. Ballots from drop boxes must be returned to the counting center in secured transport containers. A copy of the record must be placed in the container, and one copy must be transported with the ballots to the counting center, where the seal number must be verified by the county auditor or a designated representative. All ballot drop boxes must be secured at 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary, special election, or general election.
Each state university, regional university, and The Evergreen State College as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 and each higher education campus as defined in RCW 28B.45.012 shall open a nonpartisan student engagement hub on its campus. The student engagement hub may be open during business hours beginning eight days before, and ending at 8:00 p.m. on the day of, the general election. Upon request of the student government organization to the administration and the county auditor, the student engagement hub at a state university, regional university, or The Evergreen State College as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 must allow voters to register in person pursuant to RCW 29A.08.140(1)(b) and provide voter registration materials .
Each institution shall contract with the county auditor for the operation of a student engagement hub under this section.
Student engagement hubs are not voting centers as outlined in RCW 29A.40.160 and must be operated in a manner that avoids partisan influence or electioneering.