ELECTION REFORM Q & A:
Strengthening Democracy, Preserving Voting Rights

April 13, 2005

A: First of all, it’s against federal law. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 permits removal of voters only at the voter’s request, for felony conviction or mental incapacity, or as part of a general effort to remove ineligible voters from the rolls. [NVRA or Motor Voter Act; 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5(a) & (b). More information at: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/nvra/activ_nvra.htm ]

But an even better reason might be this: Every legal, eligible voter in this state should not be penalized because of a statistically-tiny number of illegal votes. Yes, we want to assure that our system is as secure and as accurate as possible. But in our country, you are innocent unless proven guilty – duly registered voters should not have to prove themselves innocent.

We believe that voting is a right, not an entitlement.

A: The greatest thing that we can do for our military voters is moving the date of the primary, according to the Secretary of State. The Department of Defense has called for ballots to be mailed 45 days before and election and currently the county auditors have been unable to follow these recommendations.

Law already provides for a grace period for soldiers serving overseas by allowing their ballot to be received up until certification of the election. To further help soldiers expedite their ballots, we will be placing a box on the outside of the ballot that the voter can check to indicate that they are a member of the armed forces or an overseas voter.

A: The problems in this past year’s election did not come from people falsely identifying themselves at the polls. The problems we saw were problems with ballots being mailed to soldiers in a timely fashion, alleged felons improperly casting ballots, inconsistent procedures, and a few people improperly casting ballots for loved ones who had passed away.

By requiring photo identification at the polls, we are creating a barrier to those who have the constitutional right to vote while ignoring the real problem. For example, more than 48,000 seniors over 65 have no driver’s license or other state photo ID. That is 7 percent of all Washington citizens over 65. Are we going to deny 7 percent of our senior citizens the right to vote?

By requiring a passport to vote we are in effect placing a poll tax on the voters of Washington State. The cost to obtain a passport is currently $97 and less than 30% of the U.S. population has one. Voting is a constitutional right, not a privilege you should have to pay for.

A: We standardize the process. Our election reforms improve mail-in ballots by requiring a printed voter’s name and address, a secrecy flap, and a declaration that it is illegal to vote if the voter is a non-citizen or a convicted felon without restored voting rights. The return envelope must have a box for voters to check if they are a member of the armed forces or an overseas voter.

In the processing of mail-in ballots, our solution requires statewide standards for signature verification. It also calls for absentee return envelopes to be placed in secure locations. [Amendment to Senate Bill 5499] Finally, the Legislature passed a bill calling for regular audits of county election systems by the Secretary of State, and there is money in our budget to pay for that.

A: Although that has not been proven to have been a problem in the last election, within these reforms we are requiring that clear and conspicuous language be added to the voter registration form stating that the applicant must be a U.S. citizen and a check box confirming that the applicant is a citizen. Additionally there will be a warning put on the voter registration form that it is a class C felony to provide false information.

There is no database to cross-reference voter rolls and check for U.S. citizenship. We must rely on law enforcement to prosecute individuals who lie on their registration. In our efforts to better our election process, we must not disenfranchise potential voters who are given the right to vote by our constitution. In protecting some we cannot create barriers for others.

A: The key is keeping information on felons current. The House Democrats’ reforms require and fund a statewide voter database to update and correct the voter registration list. The database will check other agency databases (such as the Department of Corrections) at least four times a year for ineligible felons, deaths, multiple registrations and other voter list problems. The reform also requires felons to sign a statement acknowledging that their right to vote has been lost and how the right to vote can be restored after they do their time and pay their fines. [Amendment to Senate Bill 5743]

A: The complaints about last November centered on military voters not having their votes counted, ineligible people voting, and a lack of standard procedures for handling ballots. We have strong solutions that deal with the real problems from the November election, not the hysteria. And we have solutions that won’t diminish participation in the heart of democracy: voting.

But we believe that the real problem in our state is not ineligible voters voting; it is eligible voters not voting. And we will not erect unnecessary roadblocks to participation in our democracy.