2005 Washington Revised Code RCW 29A.08.651: Voter registration data base.

(1) The office of the secretary of state shall create and maintain a statewide voter registration data base. This data base must be a single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and administered at the state level that contains the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state and assigns a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state.

     (2) The computerized list must serve as the single system for storing and maintaining the official list of registered voters throughout the state.

     (3) The computerized list must contain the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state.

     (4) Under the computerized list, a unique identifier is assigned to each legally registered voter in the state.

     (5) The computerized list must be coordinated with other agency data bases within the state, including but not limited to the department of corrections, the department of licensing, the department of health, the Washington state patrol, and the office of the administrator for the courts. The computerized list may also be coordinated with the data bases of election officials in other states.

     (6) Any election officer in the state, including any local election officer, may obtain immediate electronic access to the information contained in the computerized list.

     (7) All voter registration information obtained by any local election officer in the state must be electronically entered into the computerized list on an expedited basis at the time the information is provided to the local officer.

     (8) The chief state election officer shall provide support, as may be required, so that local election officers are able to enter information as described in subsection (3) of this section.

     (9) The computerized list serves as the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections.

     (10) The secretary of state has data authority on all voter registration data.

     (11) The voter registration data base must be designed to accomplish at a minimum, the following:

     (a) Comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-252);

     (b) Identify duplicate voter registrations;

     (c) Identify suspected duplicate voters;

     (d) Screen against the department of corrections, the Washington state patrol, and other appropriate state agency data bases to aid in the cancellation of voter registration of felons, of persons who have declined to serve on juries by virtue of not being citizens of the United States, and of persons determined to be legally incompetent to vote;

     (e) Provide up-to-date signatures of voters for the purposes of initiative signature checking;

     (f) Provide for a comparison between the voter registration data base and the department of licensing change of address data base;

     (g) Provide online access for county auditors with the goal of real time duplicate checking and update capabilities; and

     (h) Provide for the cancellation of voter registration for persons who have moved to other states and surrendered their Washington state drivers' licenses.

     (12) In order to maintain the statewide voter registration data base, the secretary of state may, upon agreement with other appropriate jurisdictions, screen against data bases maintained by election officials in other states and data bases maintained by federal agencies including, but not limited to, the federal bureau of investigation, the federal court system, the federal bureau of prisons, and the bureau of citizenship and immigration services.

     (13) The secretary of state shall retain information regarding previous successful appeals of proposed cancellations of registrations in order to avoid repeated cancellations for the same reason.

     (14) The secretary of state must review and update the records of all registered voters on the computerized list on a quarterly basis to make additions and corrections.

[2005 c 246 § 16; 2004 c 267 § 101.]

Effective date -- 2005 c 246: See note following RCW 10.64.140.      Effective dates -- 2004 c 267: "(1) Sections 103, 104, and 115 through 118 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect immediately [March 31, 2004].      (2) Sections 119, 140, 201 through 203, 321, 401, 501, and 702 of this act take effect July 1, 2004.      (3) Sections 301 through 320 of this act take effect January 1, 2005.      (4) Sections 101, 102, 105 through 114, 120 through 139, 601, 701, and 704 of this act take effect January 1, 2006." [2004 c 267 § 707.] Department of licensing negative file: RCW 46.20.118.