| After
years of debate, the Washington State Legislature
has finally moved the date of Washington’s
late Primary Election. By a 94 to 3 vote, the
House of Representatives passed Secretary of State
Sam Reed’s proposed legislation to move
the election up four weeks. The bill is now headed
for the Governor’s desk.
“This victory has been years in the making,”
said Reed. “Moving the Primary from September
to August is a win for the people and for democracy
itself.”
Specifically, the 2006 Legislature changed
state election law to:
- Move the date of the Primary from
the third Tuesday in September to the third
Tuesday in August;
- Move filing week from the fourth Monday
in July to the first Monday in June, allowing
military voters to receive their primary ballots
sooner;
- Move the time period for minor party conventions
from the last Saturday in June to the first
Saturday in May;
- Increase the time for certifying the Primary
from 10 days to 15 days; and
- Require military and overseas ballots to
be mailed 30 days before an election.
“The intent of this legislation is to
stabilize the voting process in this state,”
said Reed. “The passage of this bill secures
the right to vote for members of the military
who are stationed in Iraq or anywhere around
the world. Military have enough time to receive,
vote and return their ballots.”
Under current law, election workers have less
than three weeks after the State Primary is
certified to hold recounts, address election
contests, hire election board workers, test
voting equipment, format and print ballots for
the General Election, and finalize and mail
Voters’ Pamphlets. Election workers have
just four or five days between certification
of the Primary and the date that military and
overseas ballots must be mailed.
The bill takes effect January 1 of next year.
|
2006
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