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News Release
Issued: December 28, 2005
Q: This has been a remarkable year in Washington State elections. Could you summarize the most significant changes over the past year?
This has indeed been a remarkable fourteen months for elections in Washington State.
Washington State held the closest Governor’s race in U.S. history in 2004, participated in an election contest lawsuit that continued eight months after the election, changed our form of primary three times, implemented eleven new legislative election reform measures, converted over 33 counties to vote by mail, implemented new voting systems in many counties, introduced voter ID requirements, provided statewide training programs for election administrators, and conducted an unprecedented level of voter education to help prepare Washington voters for these many changes.
In addition, the Help America Vote Act imposes many new federal requirements on the elections system in every state.
Q: What is the status of the new state law requirement for a voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT)?
Washington State law now requires a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) to be installed on all electronic voting devices. This requirement will be a challenge for Washington for two reasons.
First, the equipment needed to meet the VVPAT requirement has not yet been federally certified.
Second, state law requires that voting system equipment must have been used in another state before it may be used in Washington. Since this equipment has not been certified at the federal level, it has not been used in another state.
Thus, our office will again be introducing legislation to eliminate the requirement that equipment be used in another state before it may be used in Washington.
But, all Washington counties have plans to purchase and install a device to provide for a voter verified paper audit trail on all electronic voting devices used in Washington in 2006.
Q: What are the key new federal requirements for Washington State under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)?
HAVA has three key new requirements for 2006 relating to the following areas.
- Statewide Voter Registration Database (VRDB)
- Punch Card Voting Devices
- Disability Access Units
Q: What is the status of Washington’s new Voter Registration Database (VRDB)?
HAVA requires that Washington State establish a statewide voter registration database by January 1, 2006.
The development of Washington’s VRDB has been a partnership involving this office, the 39 counties, and other state agencies with data on age, felon status, and voter identification information.
Formerly, Washington maintained 39 different voter registration databases, one in each county managed by that county.
Washington State is this week completing the download of registrations from the counties into Washington’s new centralized statewide database to be managed by the Office of Secretary of State.
On January 1, 2006, Washington State will have a fully populated statewide voter registration database in compliance with HAVA.
Throughout January 2006, this office will screen the list of registered voters for duplicate registrations and deceased voters.
In March 2006, this office will screen the list of registered voters for felons. Because felons are allowed 30 days to respond to the notice of ineligibility, this type of screening must be conducted between the spring special election dates.
Q: What is the status of replacing punch card voting systems?
Washington State accepted federal HAVA funds to replace punch card voting equipment. Consequently, all punch card voting equipment must be replaced by the first federal election in 2006. Washington’s first federal election in 2006 is the September primary.
Washington formerly had fifteen counties using punch card voting systems. Each of these counties has replaced these systems with a HAVA compliant system.
Washington State will be in full compliance with these requirements by the first federal election in 2006.
Q: What is the status of federal requirements for Disability Access Units?
Effective January 1, 2006, HAVA requires that each polling place in America provide a federally certified disability access unit to allow voters with disabilities to vote in privacy.
Each Washington county has selected the disability access unit compatible with that county’s voting system.
Each Washington county has been approved by our office for a HAVA grant to purchase disability access units.
Some counties have purchased federally and state certified disability access units and will be in full compliance with this requirement by January 1, 2006.
Not all counties will be in compliance with this requirement by January 1, 2006, however, because not all vendors have obtained federal certification for their disability access units.
These vendors are in the final stages of obtaining federal certification for their disability access units and may not have this certification until later in January or February 2006. Each of these vendors has certifications pending in December and January.
Counties purchasing disability access units from these vendors will not be able to install the equipment until they are federally and state certified.
Thus, every Washington county is either fully in compliance with this requirement or fully prepared to be in compliance with this requirement upon federal and state certification.
All Washington counties will be fully compliant with this requirement by the first federal election in Washington (September 2006). In fact, we expect each county to be compliant with this requirement six or seven months prior to the first federal election in 2006.
Q: Why are vendors late in obtaining federal certification for the disability access devices?
The vendors are late obtaining federal certification for this equipment because the federal government was late in establishing the certification standards for this equipment. The federal government did not approve these standards until July 2005.
The federal government was late establishing certification standards due to the late creation of the Election Assistance Commission and the late funding of that Commission.
All vendors have been working diligently to obtain federal and state certification for their equipment to meet the January 1, 2006 deadline.
Washington State and this office have worked very hard to meet the 2006 HAVA deadlines. When the final federal and state certifications have been issued for vendors in Washington, the counties will purchase, install and test their equipment well in advance of the first federal election in Washington, and Washington State will be fully compliant with HAVA.
Q: How much money federal money was granted to the state of Washington for election purposes and how much has been spent?
The federal government allocated $62.3 million to the state of Washington. These funds have been received by the Office of Secretary of State and are being allocated to the state elections division and the thirty nine counties to meet new federal requirements and to improve election administration in Washington state.
So far, approximately $48 million has been allocated for federal requirements or improvements to election administration.
Most of these monies have been allocated to the following types of projects.
- Voter Registration Database
- Punch card replacement
- Voter Registration Systems
- Tabulation Systems
- Disability Access Units
- Voter Registration Forms
- Voter Education and Outreach
- Election Official Training Programs
Q: How much training is being provided to election administrators on these new requirements?
The state Elections Division through the Certification and Training Program has been conducting extensive training programs for election officials statewide on a wide variety of subjects, including the following.
- Election Reform Measures passed by Legislature
- Voter Registration Database implementation
- Signature Verification Process
- Voter Identification requirements
- Ballot Accountability and Reconciliation
Office of Secretary of State
Elections Division
(360) 902-4180
