S-0664.1                   _______________________________________________

                                                     SENATE BILL 5146

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senators Winsley, Sheldon and Oke

Read first time 01/15/93.  Referred to Committee on Government Operations.

Granting ongoing absentee status for voting armed service members.

          AN ACT Relating to absentee ballots for members of the armed forces; and amending RCW 29.36.013.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  RCW 29.36.013 and 1991 c 81 s 30 are each amended to read as follows:

          Any disabled voter ((or)), any voter over the age of sixty-five, or any voter who is a member of the armed forces may apply, in writing, for status as an ongoing absentee voter.  Each such voter shall be granted that status by his or her county auditor and shall automatically receive an absentee ballot for each ensuing election for which he or she is entitled to vote and need not submit a separate request for each election.  Ballots received from ongoing absentee voters shall be validated, processed, and tabulated in the same manner as other absentee ballots.

          Status as an ongoing absentee voter shall be terminated upon any of the following events:

          (1) The written request of the voter;

          (2) The death or disqualification of the voter;

          (3) The cancellation of the voter's registration record;

          (4) The return of an ongoing absentee ballot as undeliverable; or

          (5) January 1st of each odd-numbered year or, for a voter who is a member of the armed forces, January 1st of each year.

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