S-3451.3
SENATE BILL 5837
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senators Valdez, Kuderer, Hasegawa, Hunt, Nobles, and Trudeau
Prefiled 12/12/23. Read first time 01/08/24. Referred to Committee
on State Government & Elections.
1 AN ACT Relating to codifying the state election database to
2 publish, evaluate, and analyze certain election data; and adding a
3 new section to chapter 29A.04 RCW.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 29A.04
6 RCW to read as follows:
7 (1) The Washington election database is established to assist the
8 state and all political subdivisions with evaluating whether and to
9 what extent existing laws and practices with respect to voting and
10 elections are consistent with public policy, implementing best
11 practices in voting and elections, and investigating potential
12 infringements upon the right to vote.
13 (2) The operation of the database shall be the responsibility of
14 the director of the database, who shall be employed by the University
15 of Washington with training and experience in demography, statistical
16 analysis, and electoral systems. The director shall appoint necessary
17 staff to implement and maintain the database.
18 (3) The database shall maintain in electronic format at least the
19 following data and records, where available, for at least the
20 previous 12-year period:
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 1 (a) Estimates of the total population, voting age population, and
2 citizen voting age population by race, ethnicity, and language-
3 minority groups, broken down to the election district and precinct
4 level on a year-by-year basis for every political subdivision in the
5 state, based on data from the United States census bureau, American
6 community survey, or data of comparable quality collected by a public
7 office;
8 (b) Election results at the precinct level for every statewide
9 election and every election in every political subdivision;
10 (c) Regularly updated voter registration lists, voter history
11 files, voting center locations, ballot drop box locations, and
12 student engagement hub locations for every election in every
13 political subdivision;
14 (d) Contemporaneous maps, descriptions of boundaries, and
15 shapefiles for election districts and precincts;
16 (e) The following records for every election in every political
17 subdivision:
18 (i) Records of all voters issued a ballot and all voters who
19 returned a ballot; and
20 (ii) Records of all ballots with missing and mismatched
21 signatures, including the date on which the voter was contacted or
22 the notice was mailed, as well as the date on which the voter
23 submitted updated information;
24 (f) Apportionment plans for every election in every political
25 subdivision; and
26 (g) Any other data that the director deems advisable.
27 (4) Upon the certification of election results and the completion
28 of the voter history file after each general election, the secretary
29 shall transmit copies of the following to the director of the
30 database:
31 (a) Election results at the precinct level, including information
32 about rejected and cured ballots;
33 (b) Voter history files;
34 (c) Shapefiles for election districts; and
35 (d) Lists of voting centers, ballot drop boxes, and student
36 engagement hubs.
37 (5) The director and staff shall update election data in the
38 database as soon as it is available from the office of the secretary
39 of state, following certification of each election as required by RCW
40 29A.60.190 or 29A.60.250.
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 1 (6) Except for any data, information, or estimates that identify
2 individual voters, the data, information, and estimates maintained by
3 the database shall be posted online and made available to the public
4 at no cost.
5 (7) The database shall prepare any estimates made pursuant to
6 this section by applying scientifically rigorous and validated
7 methodologies.
8 (8) On or before January 1, 2025, the database shall publish on
9 its website and transmit to the state for dissemination to county
10 auditors and the secretary a list of political subdivisions required,
11 pursuant to section 203 of the federal voting rights act, 52 U.S.C.
12 Sec. 10503, to provide assistance to members of language-minority
13 groups and each language in which those political subdivisions are
14 required to provide assistance. Each county auditor shall transmit
15 the list described in this subsection to all political subdivisions
16 within their jurisdiction.
17 (9) The database will complete regular analysis of ballot
18 rejections and cures, identifying population subgroups with higher
19 than average ballot rejection rates. An annual report of ballot
20 rejections will be posted online and made available to the public at
21 no cost. Database staff may work with the secretary of state and
22 county auditors to examine new practices and solutions for reducing
23 ballot rejections and increasing ballot cure rates.
24 (10) Staff at the database may provide nonpartisan technical
25 assistance to political subdivisions, scholars, and the general
26 public seeking to use the resources of the database.
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