The bill seeks to align Washington State's voting procedures for uniformed and overseas civilian voters with federal standards set by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. It introduces new definitions such as "covered voter," "military-overseas ballot," and "uniformed-service voter," while outlining the Secretary of State's responsibilities in implementing these standards. The legislation emphasizes the importance of securing voting rights for military personnel and overseas citizens, ensuring access to voter registration and ballot casting. It establishes various methods for registering to vote and applying for military-overseas ballots, including the use of federal postcard applications and electronic transmission systems, and mandates that ballots be sent to overseas voters at least 30 days before elections.

Additionally, the bill amends existing voting regulations by updating criteria for ballot validity when postmarks are missing or illegible, determining validity based on the date on the ballot declaration. It removes the provision allowing overseas and service voters to return ballots via fax or email by 8:00 p.m. on election day and includes new sections that set expiration dates for certain provisions. The legislation also makes conforming amendments to existing statutes, updates residency requirements for voter registration, and outlines the process for providing special absentee ballots, ensuring they are available 90 days prior to elections. Overall, the bill aims to enhance the voting process and ensure absentee voting is accessible and secure.

Statutes affected:
Original bill: 29A.04.109, 29A.04.151, 29A.04.163, 29A.04.210, 29A.08.107, 29A.40.050, 29A.40.070, 29A.40.091, 29A.40.110
Substitute bill: 29A.04.109, 29A.04.151, 29A.04.163, 29A.04.210, 29A.08.107, 29A.40.050, 29A.40.070, 29A.40.091, 29A.40.110