Title 29A — Title 29A ELECTIONS

All elections, whether special or general, held under RCW 29A.04.321 and 29A.04.330 must be conducted by the county auditor as ex officio county supervisor of elections and, except as provided in RCW 29A.60.240, the returns canvassed by the county canvassing board.[ 2013 c 11 s 5…

(1) For any office, except precinct committee officer, at any election or primary, any voter may write in on the ballot the name of any person for an office. Votes must be individually tallied for a candidate who has filed as a write-in candidate for the office in the manner prov…

A ballot is invalid and no votes on that ballot may be counted if it is found folded together with another ballot.Those parts of a ballot are invalid and no votes may be counted for those issues or offices where more votes are cast for the office or issue than are permitted by la…

Whenever the counting center personnel have a question about the validity of a ballot or the votes for an office or issue that they are unable to resolve, they shall prepare and sign a concise record of the facts in question or dispute. These ballots shall be delivered to the can…

After the close of voting at 8:00 p.m., the county auditor must directly load the results from any direct recording electronic memory pack into the central accumulator.[ 2013 c 11 s 60; 2011 c 10 s 49; 2003 c 111 s 1506. Prior: 1999 c 158 s 12. Formerly RCW 29.54.097.]Notes:Notic…

The county auditor shall produce cumulative and precinct returns for each primary and election and deliver them to the canvassing board for verification and certification. The precinct and cumulative returns of any primary or election are public records under chapter 42.56 RCW.Cu…

In counties using voting systems, the county auditor shall maintain the following documents for at least sixty days after the primary or election:(1) Sample ballot formats together with a record of the format or formats assigned to each precinct;(2) All programming material relat…

(1) The electronic record produced and counted by electronic voting devices is the official record of each vote for election purposes. The paper record produced under RCW 29A.12.085 must be stored and maintained for use only in the following circumstances:(a) In the event of a ma…

Votes cast by stickers or printed labels are not valid for any purpose and shall be rejected. Votes cast by sticker or label shall not affect the validity of other offices or issues on the voter's ballot.[ 2003 c 111 s 1510. Prior: 1990 c 59 s 46; 1965 ex.s. c 101 s 16. Formerly …

(1) Immediately after their tabulation, all ballots counted at a ballot counting center must be sealed in containers that identify the primary or election and be retained for at least sixty days or according to federal law, whichever is longer.(2) In the presence of major party o…

(1) All voted ballots must be manually inspected for damage, write-in votes, and incorrect or incomplete marks. If it is found that any ballot is damaged so that it cannot properly be counted by the vote tallying system, a true duplicate copy must be made of the damaged ballot in…

If inspection of the ballot reveals a physically damaged ballot or ballot that may be otherwise unreadable or uncountable by the tabulating system, the county auditor may refer the ballot to the county canvassing board or duplicate the ballot if so authorized by the county canvas…

No certificate shall be withheld on account of any defect or informality in the returns of any election, if it can with reasonable certainty be ascertained from such return what office is intended, and who is entitled to such certificate, nor shall any commission be withheld by t…

(1) Members of the county canvassing board are the county auditor, who is the chair, the county prosecuting attorney, and the chair of the county legislative body. If a member of the board is not available to carry out the duties of the board, then the auditor may designate a dep…

The members of the county canvassing board may not include individuals who are candidates for an office to be voted upon at the primary or election. If no individual is available to serve on the canvassing board who is not a candidate at the primary or election the individual who…

(1) The county auditor, as delegated by the county canvassing board, shall process ballots and canvass the votes cast at that primary or election on a daily basis in counties with a population of seventy-five thousand or more, or at least every third day for counties with a popul…

(1) If the voter neglects to sign the ballot declaration, the auditor shall notify the voter by first-class mail and, if the auditor has a telephone number or email address on file for a voter, by telephone, text message, or email, and advise the voter both that their ballot is u…

(1) The secretary of state shall:(a) Adopt and regularly review statewide standards for determining whether the voter's signature on the ballot declaration is the same as the signature of that voter in the county's registration files as required by RCW 29A.40.110(3);(b) Adopt, pu…

The secretary of state shall design forms for voters to use in completing incomplete ballot declarations and forms to be used by voters in updating a voter's signature in the county's registration files in the various languages required of state agencies. The forms must include t…

(1) Each county auditor shall develop a community outreach plan to educate voters about signature verification requirements and the importance of ballot signatures matching signatures in voter registration files. The outreach plan shall include materials for publication on the co…

(1) At least twenty-eight days prior to any special election, general election, or primary, the county auditor shall request from the chair of the county central committee of each major political party a list of individuals who are willing to serve as observers. The county audito…

Each registered voter casting a valid ballot will be credited with voting on his or her voter registration record.[ 2011 c 10 s 56; 2003 c 111 s 1518. Prior: 2001 c 241 s 12; 1988 c 181 s 3; 1987 c 346 s 16; 1983 c 136 s 1; 1965 c 9 s 29.36.075; prior: 1961 c 78 s 1. Formerly RCW…

(1) Prior to certification of the election as required by RCW 29A.60.190, the county auditor shall conduct an audit of duplicated ballots in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, and an audit using at minimum one of the following methods:(a) An audit of results of votes…

Ten days after a special election held in February or April, ten days after a presidential primary held pursuant to chapter 29A.56 RCW, fourteen days after a primary, or twenty-one days after a general election, the county canvassing board shall complete the canvass and certify t…

Before certification of the primary or election, the county auditor must examine and investigate all received provisional ballots to determine whether the ballot can be counted. The auditor shall provide the disposition of the provisional ballot and, if the ballot was not counted…

(1) Before canvassing the returns of a primary or election, the chair of the county legislative authority or the chair's designee shall administer an oath to the county auditor or the auditor's designee attesting to the authenticity of the information presented to the canvassing …

Whenever the canvassing board finds during the initial counting process, or during any subsequent recount thereof, that there is an apparent discrepancy or an inconsistency in the returns of a primary or election, or that election staff has made an error regarding the treatment o…

(1) If the requisite number of any federal, state, county, city, or district offices have not been nominated in a primary by reason of two or more persons having an equal and requisite number of votes for being placed on the general election ballot, the official empowered by stat…

Immediately after the official results of a state primary or general election in a county are ascertained, the county auditor or other election officer shall make an abstract of the number of registered voters in each precinct and of all the votes cast in the county at such state…

(1) The county auditor shall prepare at the time of certification an election reconciliation report that discloses the following information:(a) The number of registered voters;(b) The number of ballots issued;(c) The number of ballots received;(d) The number of ballots counted;(…

The secretary of state shall, as soon as possible but in any event not later than seventeen days following the primary, canvass and certify the returns of all primary elections as to candidates for statewide offices, United States senators and representatives in Congress, and all…

As soon as the returns have been received from all the counties of the state, but not later than the thirtieth day after the election, the secretary of state shall canvass and certify the returns of the general election as to candidates for statewide offices, the United States se…

The votes on proposed amendments to the state Constitution, recommendations for the calling of constitutional conventions and other questions submitted to the people must be counted, canvassed, and returned by each county canvassing board in the manner provided by law for countin…

The term of every city, town, and district officer elected to office on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of the odd-numbered years begins in accordance with *RCW 29A.20.040. However, a person elected to less than a full term shall assume office as soon as …

(1) The legislature finds that certain laws are in conflict governing the assumption of office of various local officials. The purpose of this section is to provide a common date for the assumption of office for all the elected officials of counties, cities, towns, and special pu…

Every odd-numbered year, the secretary of state must conduct and publish a statewide survey of voted ballot rejection rates and the reasons for those rejections by county auditors and canvassing boards. The secretary of state must collect data from reconciliation reports and coun…

(1) A work group is established to approve a uniform ballot envelope design to be used by all counties in each election beginning with the 2026 primary election.(2) The work group must be chaired by the secretary of state, or the secretary's designee, and include at a minimum the…