House takes steps to increase voter participation

While many states across the country are trying to restrict access to the ballot box, the Washington House is moving in the opposite direction.  On Thursday, members passed a slate of bills that will improve voter participation and boost diversity among the men and women who hold elected office in our state.

Chief among those bills is the Voting Rights Act of 2013 which promotes equal voting opportunities and fairness in political subdivisions to improve representation of under-represented groups.  The bill empowers local communities that have had difficulties getting communitiy members elected at-large.

Other voter bills passed today:

• HB 1267 changes registration deadlines to 11 days prior to Election Day.
• HB 1279 allows 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote when they get their driver's license.  They will not be allowed to vot until they are 18, of course, but will be registered and ready.
• HB 1195 expands the requirement that no primary be held when there are no more than two candidates filing for office to include all nonpartisan offices.
• HJM 4001 requests Congress to enact a constitutional amendment returning authority to regulate election-campaign contributions to Congress and the state legislatures.  This Joint Memorial is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.

Read this story in Spanish.

 

 

Washington elections website receives top marks

​A new report released by the Center for Governmental Studies looked at the elections websites for each state and found that Washington was the third best in the nation.

The report assessed how effective each elections website was in providing detailed and accessible information on candidates, ballot measures, audio/video of debates, sample ballots, etc. Washington was the only state to receive a “B” grade, putting it behind the only “A” states: Alaska and California.

Here is what they said about the Washington Secretary of State’s election page:

“Washington’s state election website provides much of the candidate information voters need to make informed decisions at the ballot box. The site provides voters with candidate lists, candidate photos, elected experience, other professional experience, education, community service, platform statements, phone numbers and email.”

Our performance is even more impressive considering how poorly other states fared. Around the country, elections websites were rather dismal. 42 states received “F” grades for their elections websites, and the “D” grades made up the next five.

You can read the full report from the Center for Government Studies here.

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Proposed laws hope to boost voting, democracy

There’s nothing more fundamental to democracy than voting.

One citizen. One vote.

That was a radical concept, an idea that has now spread around the world.

Yet many people don’t vote. They haven’t even registered to do it.

As this story in The Stranger shows, three proposed laws – introduced by three Democrats and two Republicans -- would make it easier for Washington voters to get into the habit.

Motor Voter, Turbo-Charged – House Bill 2203 would expand today’s motor-voter system. Instead of being offered the chance to register to vote when you get your driver’s license, or renew it (opt-in), the system would automatically register you to vote unless you say otherwise (opt-out).

Vote to the Deadline – House Bill 2204 would let citizens register to vote up to 5 p.m. on election day, or eight days in advance of a special election. Right now, state law cuts people off from registering to vote 29 days before elections if you do it online and eight days before the election when you do it live, in person, at your friendly county auditor’s office.

Pre-register 16-year-olds – House Bill 2205 is getting the most attention, because it would allow people 16 years and older to sign up to vote (when they turn 18) as they apply for their first driver’s license. Young people have the lowest voting turnout rates. This bill could get a lot more young adults into the habit of voting, especially now that the entire state is vote by mail. You don’t have to drive to a polling station anymore.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.