Title 29A, ELECTIONS

At least three days before each state primary or general election, the office of the secretary of state shall provide for the conduct of tests of the programming for each vote tallying system to be used at that primary or general election. The test must verify that the system wil…

The secretary of state may publish recommended procedures for the operation of the various vote tallying systems that have been approved. These procedures allow the office of the secretary of state to restrict or define the use of approved systems in elections. [ 2003 c 111 s 314…

The secretary of state shall not certify under this title any voting device or machine for use in conducting a primary or general or special election in this state unless the device or machine correctly records on a separate ballot the votes cast by each elector for any person an…

(1) At each voting center, at least one voting unit certified by the secretary of state shall provide access to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. (2) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (a) "Accessible" includes receiving, using, selecting…

(1) A manufacturer or distributor of a voting system or component of a voting system that is certified by the secretary of state under RCW 29A.12.020 shall disclose to the secretary of state and attorney general any breach of the security of its system immediately following disco…

(1) The secretary of state may decertify a voting system or any component of a voting system and withdraw authority for its future use or sale in the state if, at any time after certification, the secretary of state determines that: (a) The system or component fails to meet the s…

(1) The secretary of state must annually consult with the Washington state fusion center, state chief information officer, and each county auditor to identify instances of security breaches of election systems or election data. (2) To the extent possible, the secretary of state m…

Each county auditor shall implement no later than July 1, 2027, cybersecurity measures including but not limited to: (1) Implementation and adoption of the ".gov" top-level domain available through the United States department of homeland security through the cybersecurity and in…

The county legislative authority of each county in the state shall divide the county into election precincts and establish the boundaries of the precincts. (1) Precinct boundaries may be altered at any time as long as sufficient time exists prior to a given election for the neces…

(1) Every voting precinct must be wholly within a single congressional district, a single legislative district, a single district of a county legislative authority, and, if applicable, a single city. (2) Every voting precinct shall be composed, as nearly as practicable, of contig…

If the boundaries of any city, township, or rural precinct are changed in the manner provided by law, the county auditor shall update the registration records of every registered voter whose place of residence is affected thereby. It shall not be necessary for any registered vote…

Not less than thirty days before the first day for filing declarations of candidacy under RCW 29A.24.050 for legislative, judicial, county, city, town, or district office, where more than one position with the same name, district number, or title will be voted upon at the succeed…

If at the same election there are short terms or full terms and unexpired terms of office to be filled, the filing officer shall distinguish them and designate the short term, the full term, and the unexpired term, as such, or by use of the words "short term," "unexpired two year…

A candidate who desires to have his or her name printed on the ballot for election to an office other than president of the United States, vice president of the United States, or an office for which ownership of property is a prerequisite to voting shall complete and file a decla…

A candidate may file a declaration of candidacy for an office by electronic means on a system specifically designed and authorized by a filing officer to accept filings. (1) Filings that are received electronically must capture all information specified in RCW 29A.24.031 (1) thro…

Except where otherwise provided by this title, declarations of candidacy for the following offices shall be filed between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. with the filing officer beginning the first Monday in May and ending the following Friday in the year in which the office is scheduled…

When filing for office, a candidate may indicate the manner in which he or she desires his or her name to be printed on the ballot. For filing purposes, a candidate may use a nickname by which he or she is commonly known as his or her first name, but the last name shall be the na…

(1) Declarations of candidacy shall be filed with the following filing officers: (a) The secretary of state for declarations of candidacy for statewide offices, United States senate, United States house of representatives, Washington state legislature, court of appeals, and super…

The secretary of state and each county auditor shall preserve all declarations of candidacy filed in their respective offices for six months. All declarations of candidacy must be open to public inspection. [ 2003 c 111 s 501; 1965 c 9 s 29.27.090. Prior: 1921 c 178 s 1, part; 19…

(1) A person filing a declaration of candidacy for an office shall, at the time of filing, be a registered voter and possess the qualifications specified by law for persons who may be elected to the office. (2) Excluding the office of precinct committee officer or a temporary ele…

Any candidate may mail a declaration of candidacy for an office to the filing officer. Such declarations of candidacy shall be processed by the filing officer in the following manner: (1) Any declaration received by the filing officer by mail before the tenth business day immedia…

(1) A filing fee of ten dollars shall accompany the declaration of candidacy for any office with a fixed annual salary of one thousand dollars or less. A filing fee equal to one percent of the annual salary of the office at the time of filing shall accompany the declaration of ca…

Fees paid when filing for office must be collected by the filing officer and distributed as follows: (1) When the candidacy is for a statewide office, the United States senate, the United States house of representatives, or the state supreme court, the fee shall be retained by th…

(1) The filing fee petition authorized by RCW 29A.24.091 must be printed on sheets of uniform color and size, must include a place for each individual to sign and print his or her name and the address, city, and county at which he or she is registered to vote, and must contain no…

Filing fee petitions may be rejected for the following reasons: (1) The petition is not in the proper form; (2) The petition clearly bears insufficient signatures; (3) The petition is not accompanied by a declaration of candidacy; (4) The time within which the petition and the de…

A candidate may withdraw the candidate's declaration of candidacy at any time before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the last day for candidates to file under RCW 29A.24.050 by filing, with the officer with whom the declaration of candidacy was filed, a signed request that the …

A void in candidacy occurs when an election has been scheduled and no valid declaration of candidacy has been filed for the position or all persons filing such valid declarations of candidacy have died or been disqualified. [ 2011 c 349 s 9; 2004 c 271 s 162.] Notes: Effective da…

(1) If, prior to the first day of the regular filing period, a vacancy occurs in an office that is not scheduled to appear on the general election ballot, leaving an unexpired term for which a successor must be elected at the next general election, filings for that office shall b…

(1) If a void in candidacy occurs following the regular filing period and deadline to withdraw, but prior to the day of the primary, filings for that office shall be reopened for a period of three normal business days, such three-day period to be fixed by the filing officer. The …

A scheduled election shall be lapsed, the office deemed stricken from the ballot, no purported write-in votes counted, and no candidate certified as elected, when a void in candidacy occurs following the special three-day filing period required by RCW 29A.24.181. [ 2011 c 349 s 1…

If after both the normal filing period and special three-day filing period as provided by RCW 29A.24.171 and 29A.24.181 have passed, no candidate has filed for any single city, town, or district position to be filled, the election for such position shall be deemed lapsed, the off…

A void in candidacy in a water-sewer district with fewer than one hundred residents may be filled in accordance with RCW 57.12.035. [ 2007 c 383 s 2.]

(1) Any person who desires to be a write-in candidate shall file a declaration of candidacy with the officer designated in RCW 29A.24.070 not later than 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election. A write-in declaration of candidacy is timely if filed by this deadline. No vo…

The secretary of state shall notify each county auditor of any declarations filed with the secretary under RCW 29A.24.311 for offices appearing on the ballot in that county. The county auditor shall ensure that those persons charged with counting the ballots for a primary or elec…

When a vacancy occurs in the representation of this state in the senate of the United States, the governor shall make a temporary appointment to that office until the people fill the vacancy by election as provided in this chapter. [ 2003 c 111 s 703. Prior: 1985 c 45 s 3; 1965 c…

(1) Whenever a vacancy occurs in the United States house of representatives or the United States senate from this state, the governor shall order a special election to fill the vacancy. (2) Within ten days of such vacancy occurring, he or she shall issue a writ of election fixing…

After calling a special primary and special vacancy election to fill a vacancy in the United States house of representatives or the United States senate from this state, the governor shall immediately notify the secretary of state who shall, in turn, immediately notify the county…

The general election laws and laws relating to partisan primaries shall apply to the special primaries and vacancy elections provided for in chapter 29A.28 RCW to the extent that they are not inconsistent with the provisions of these sections. Statutory time deadlines relating to…

The secretary of state shall, whenever at least one statewide measure or office is scheduled to appear on the general election ballot, print and distribute a voters' pamphlet. The secretary of state shall distribute the voters' pamphlet to each household in the state, to public l…

No person or entity may publish or distribute any campaign material that is deceptively similar in design or appearance to a voters' pamphlet that was published by the secretary of state during the 10-year period before the publication or distribution of the campaign material by …

The voters' pamphlet published or distributed under RCW 29A.32.010 must contain: (1) Information about each ballot measure initiated by or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection as required by RCW 29A.32.070; (2) In even-numbered years, statements, if submitted, f…

The voters' pamphlet must also contain the political party preference or independent status where a candidate appearing on the ballot has expressed such a preference on his or her declaration of candidacy. [ 2005 c 2 s 11 (Initiative Measure No. 872, approved November 2, 2004).] …

(1) Explanatory statements prepared by the attorney general under RCW 29A.32.070 (3) and (4) must be written in clear and concise language, avoiding legal and technical terms when possible. Statements are initiated by written request from the secretary of state, and must be filed…

Committees shall write and submit arguments advocating the approval or rejection of each statewide ballot issue and rebuttals of those arguments. The secretary of state, the presiding officer of the senate, and the presiding officer of the house of representatives shall appoint t…

The secretary of state shall determine the format and layout of the voters' pamphlet published under RCW 29A.32.010. The secretary of state shall print the pamphlet in clear, readable type on a size, quality, and weight of paper that in the judgment of the secretary of state best…

Statewide ballot measures that amend existing law must be printed in the voters' pamphlet so that language proposed for deletion is enclosed by double parentheses and has a line through it. Proposed new language must be underlined. A statement explaining the deletion and addition…