Title 29A, ELECTIONS

The convention shall meet at the time and place fixed in the governor's proclamation. The secretary of state shall call it to order, who shall then call the roll of the delegates and preside over the convention until its president is elected. The chief justice of the supreme cour…

Two-thirds of the elected members of said convention shall constitute a quorum to do business, and a majority of those elected shall be sufficient to adopt or reject any proposition coming before the convention. If such majority votes in favor of the ratification of the amendment…

The vote of each member shall be recorded in the journal of the convention, which shall be preserved by the secretary of state as a public document. The action of the convention shall be enrolled, signed by its president and secretary and filed with the secretary of state and it …

The delegates attending the convention shall be paid the amount of their filing fee, upon vouchers approved by the president and secretary of the convention and state warrants issued thereon and payable from the general fund of the state treasury. The delegates shall receive no o…

If a congressional measure, which submits to the several states an amendment to the Constitution of the United States for ratification or rejection, provides for or requires a different method of calling and holding conventions to ratify or reject said amendment, the requirements…

A "convention" for the purposes of this chapter , is an organized assemblage of registered voters representing an independent candidate or candidates or a new or minor political party, organization, or principle. [ 2013 c 11 s 26; 2004 c 271 s 188. Formerly RCW 29A.20.111.]

Nominations of candidates for president and vice president of the United States, other than by a major political party, may be made at a convention conducted not earlier than the first Saturday in May and not later than the fourth Saturday in July in the year that president and v…

Each minor party or independent candidate must publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the county in which the party or the candidate intends to hold a convention. The notice must appear at least ten days before the convention is to be held, and shall state …

A nominating petition submitted under this chapter shall clearly identify the name of the minor party or independent candidate convention as it appears on the certificate of nomination as required by *RCW 29A.20.161(3). The petition shall also contain a statement that the person …

A certificate evidencing nominations made at a convention must: (1) Be in writing; (2) Contain the name of each person nominated, his or her residence, the office for which he or she is named, and a sworn statement from both nominees giving their consent to the nomination; (3) Id…

(1) If two or more valid certificates of nomination are filed purporting to nominate different candidates for the same position using the same party name, the filing officer must give effect to both certificates. If conflicting claims to the party name are not resolved either by …

A minor political party or independent candidate convention nominating candidates for the offices of president and vice president of the United States shall, not later than ten days after the adjournment of the convention, submit a list of presidential electors to the office of t…

Upon the receipt of the certificate of nomination, the secretary of state shall check the certificate and canvass the signatures on the accompanying nominating petitions to determine if the requirements of RCW 29A.56.640 have been met. Once the determination has been made, the se…

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 …

(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 l…

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: No…

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. C…

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 rel…

(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 m…

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 …

(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, …

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 RC…

(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 vote…

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 count…

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…