H-0520.5
HOUSE BILL 1584
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Marshall, Dye, Eslick, Couture, Connors, Klicker, Volz, Corry, Keaton, Waters, Graham, Schmick, McEntire, Walsh, and Barnard
Read first time 01/24/25. Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations.
AN ACT Relating to ending vote by mail for nonabsentee voters and restoring in-person voting at polling places and voting centers; amending RCW 29A.04.008 , 29A.04.019 , 29A.04.031 , 29A.04.223 , 29A.04.611 , 29A.08.140 , 29A.08.410 , 29A.08.620 , 29A.08.810 , 29A.12.085 , 29A.12.120 , 29A.12.160 , 29A.32.241 , 29A.36.220 , 29A.40.010 , 29A.40.020 , 29A.40.050 , 29A.40.070 , 29A.40.091 , 29A.40.100 , 29A.40.110 , 29A.40.130 , 29A.40.160 , 29A.40.170 , 29A.40.180 , 29A.60.050 , 29A.60.110 , 29A.60.120 , 29A.60.165 , 29A.60.170 , 29A.60.190 , 29A.60.235 , 29A.84.510 , 29A.84.520 , 29A.84.540 , 29A.84.545 , and 29A.84.550 ; reenacting and amending RCW 29A.40.110 ; adding a new section to chapter 29A.04 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 29A.16 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 29A.40 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 29A RCW; creating a new section; repealing 2011 c 10 s 85 (uncodified); prescribing penalties; providing an effective date; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that while voting by mail in Washington has increased turnout in elections, this increase in turnout has come at the expense of ballot security. No longer do voters have the privacy of a voting booth or the security of a polling place, but instead they are subject to potential intimidation, electioneering, and fraud while filling out and casting a ballot.
The legislature further finds that trust in the electoral system across the United States has declined due to credible allegations of voter fraud, ballot tampering, and foreign interference in elections. As a result, it is important to institute an electoral process that not only secures the vote from fraud, tampering, and interference, but also restores trust that the outcomes are legitimate and that the election was free and fair.