Washington State Democracy Legislation & ACTION NEEDED

We are now in our fifth week of the Washington State legislative 2026 session. Bills needed to be voted out of their respective policy committee last Wednesday, February 4th; and bills with a fiscal note need to be voted out of their respective fiscal committee (Appropriations in the House and Ways & Means in the Senate) by TODAY, Monday, February 9th. All bills need to be voted out of their house of origin by February 17th. If not, then the bill is dead for the session and will need to be reintroduced next session in 2027. Bills still alive will move to the opposite chamber starting with their respective policy committee. Unfortunately, some of our priority bills are not moving forward and will need to be reintroduced again next session, listed below.

As a reminder, Washington state's legislative session begins on the second Monday in January. The Washington state legislature operates on a biennium, meaning each legislative session lasts two years and bills that are not passed in the first year are automatically carried over to the next year. This is the SECOND year of the biennium, which is a shorter session lasting 60 days. The last day of the session is March 12, 2026. Bills introduced last year that did not pass have carried over to this year, in addition to new bills introduced this session.

Bill Summary:  

• Permits the adoption of ranked choice voting (RCV) in elections for offices in counties, cities, towns, school districts, fire districts, and port districts until December 31, 2032, and establishes certain requirements for RCV ballot design and vote tabulation.

• Requires jurisdictions that adopt RCV to provide educational materials for the public and pay implementation costs.

More info:  

House Bill 2210 recognizes that local governments need clear and flexible authority to adopt alternative election systems like ranked-choice voting (RCV) and proportional representation — tools that help reduce vote splitting, reflect voter preferences more accurately, and support effective local governance. It would:

• Authorize local jurisdictions for a period of six years to choose to adopt ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, or other approved election methods. Once a jurisdiction opts in during that period, it can continue using that election method thereafter.

• Provide clearer legal authority for local options that currently lack sufficient statutory clarity, reducing uncertainty and litigation risk around adopting alternative voting methods.

• Support democratic resilience by offering practical tools for local governments during a period of evolving federal voting rights protections.

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PRIORITY BILL:

Voter Suppression & Dilution Guidelines:

HB 1750 – Creating guidelines for voter suppression and vote dilution claims under the Washington voting rights act.

Status & Hearings: 

• The bill was referred to the House Rules last session. This session, the bill was reintroduced and retained in present status. Referred back to the House Appropriations Committee.

• Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations on Feb 2nd. Passed out of Committee. Majority; 2nd substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (Majority report) Minority; do not pass. (Minority report) Referred to House Rules Committee. You can view the hearing HERE. 

Bill Summary: 

• Prohibits certain political subdivisions from implementing and enforcing any election policy or practice, or to take any action or fail to take any action, that results in, is likely to result in, or is intended to result in a material disparate burden on the ability or opportunity of members of a protected class to vote or participate in any stage of the political process.

• Provides a four-year safe harbor from challenges brought under an abridgment claim for any subsequent actions based on the same election policy or practice for which a court has concluded that the political subdivision's remedy complies with the Washington Voting Rights Act.

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 PRIORITY BILL:

National Voter Registration Day:

SB 6130 (Companion Bill HB 2341) - Celebrating national voter registration day.

Status & Hearings: 

• The bill had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on Jan 27th. You can view the hearing HERE.

• Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on Feb 4th. Passed out of committee. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (View 1st substitute) (Majority report) Minority; do not pass. (Minority report. Referred to Senate Rules Committee. You can view the hearing HERE.

Bill Summary: 

• Directs public high schools to observe National Voter Registration Day each September and to coordinate voter registration events on National Voter Registration Day as resources allow.

• Modifies the requirements of Temperance and Good Citizenship Day to align with the requirements of National Voter Registration Day.

• Directs the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Secretary of State to collaborate to provide youth voter registration materials to schools and collect and report on the number of students registered to vote on National Voter Registration Day.

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PRIORITY BILL:

Protections Against Voter Reg. Challenges:

HB 1916 - Amending voter registration challenges and managing voter registration lists.

Status & Hearings: 

• The bill was referred to the House Rules committee last session. This session, the bill was reintroduced and retained in present status. 

• Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading on Jan 27th. Sent to the House floor for a possible vote.

Bill Summary: 

• Amends the process, permitted evidence, and penalties for challenging a voter's registration.

• Clarifies when a voter's registration is canceled or removed from the voter registration list.

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PRIORITY BILL:

Protecting Voter Registration Database:

SB 5892 - Voter registration database protection.

Status & Hearings: 

• A public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections on January 20th. You can view the hearing HERE.

• Executive action was taken in the Senate State Government Tribal Affairs & Elections on Jan 23rd. Passed out of committee. The bill will move to the Senate Rules Committee. You can view the hearing HERE. 

• Placed on second reading by Rules Committee on Jan 28th.

• Passed the Senate! yeas, 29; nays, 19; absent, 0; excused, 1. (View this roll call)

• The bill will now be referred to the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee for a possible hearing. 

Bill Summary: 

• Prohibits a county elections office from producing records in response to a request for reports generated by the statewide voter registration database.

• Prohibits any state or location election officer, or a designee, from knowingly disclosing information in any county or statewide voter registration database inconsistent with the performance of their duties.

• Prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of personal information shown on an affidavit of voter registration or included in a voter registration file.

• Establishes penalties for the prohibitions.

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PRIORITY BILL:

SCR 8406 - Reestablishing the joint select committee on civic health.

Bill Summary:  

• Reestablishes the Joint Select Committee on Civic Health.

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Local News:

SB 5400 – Supporting local news journalism.

Status & Hearings: 

• By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status on Jan 12th.

• A public hearing was held in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Feb 5. No executive session scheduled.

Substitute Bill Summary: 

• Establishes the Washington Local News Sustainability Program (Program) in the Department of Commerce to make grants supporting the employment of news journalists covering civic affairs in underserved communities.

• Establishes a business and occupation tax surcharge of 1.22 percent on certain social media platforms and search engines, and requires revenues from the surcharge be used for the Program.

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Priority Bills NOT Moving Forward this Session:

Jail Voting Access:

HB 1146 – Improving access and removing barriers to voting in jails

Substitute Bill Summary: 

• Requires county auditors to create a Voting Plan (Plan) for each jail and state hospital within the county, including details about how the jail or hospital will help people who are incarcerated register to vote and access and complete a ballot.

• Requires jails and state hospitals to implement their Plans and provide voter registration information, ballot-related information, and ballots to people who are incarcerated.

• Authorizes the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) to investigate and bring an action against a county, jail, or state hospital for a violation of this act and authorizes the court to award $25,000 per violation to the AGO for remittance to the Office of the Secretary of State to use towards increasing accessibility for voters in jails and state hospitals.

• Requires the Secretary of State to contract with the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance to identify challenges and make recommendations related to voter registration and voting access for people who are incarcerated in jail or patients in a state hospital.

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Voting Rights Restoration:

HB 1196 – Revoking a person's voting rights only when convicted of a state crime punishable by death.

Bill Summary: 

• This bill would revoke a person's voting rights only when convicted of a state crime punishable by death.

• It would amend Washington state's RCW (Revised Code of Washington) definition of "infamous crime" as a state crime punishable by death.

• This definition applies for purposes of voter qualifications and does not apply when the term "infamous crime" is used in other titles of the Revised Code of Washington, unless otherwise stated or the context requires otherwise.

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Act for Civic Engagment:

HB 1147 – Supporting civic engagement for incarcerated and institutionalized individuals in state custody to promote inclusion and rehabilitation.

Bill Summary: 

• Ensures that all individuals, including those in state institutions, have the opportunity to participate in civic life.

• Allows people in state institutions to form groups and engage in civic discussions.

• Enables interaction with the public, politicians, and advocacy groups.

• Provides tools for participation in virtual meetings with community groups, lawmakers, and forums.

• Prevents retaliation for taking part in civic processes.

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Election Day Holiday:

HB 1116 – Recognizing election day as a state holiday.

Bill Summary: 

• The state recognizes the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, recognized as election day as a state holiday.

• The legislature encourages state governmental entities, local governments, schools and institutions of higher education, and cultural organizations to recognize election day and engage in educational programming related to democracy and voting.

• The office of the secretary of state shall create election day programming and materials that these entities may use in planning and structuring their recognitions. For purposes of this section, "election day" is the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November.

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Voter Pamplets for Primary Elections:

SB 5069 – Requiring the secretary of state to print and distribute a voters' pamphlet for the primary in each even-numbered year and for the general election every year.

Bill Summary: 

• Requires the secretary of state to print and distribute a voters' pamphlet prior to the primary in each even-numbered year and prior to the general election every year.

• Provides that local voters' pamphlets printed and distributed by county auditors are not required to provide information on measures and candidates appearing in a voters' pamphlet produced by the secretary of state.

Other democracy bills we are following, but have not taken a position: 

HB 2206 - Adopting national standards for uniformed and overseas civilian voting, including conforming amendments to existing statute.

Bill Summary:  

• Adopts, substantially, the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act to extend protections found in federal law for service and overseas voters to state elections, and makes conforming changes to state statute.

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SB 6035 - Ensuring access to voting services for military, overseas, Native American, and disabled voters.

Status & Hearings: 

• A public hearing was held in the Senate State Government Tribal Affairs & Elections on January 20th. You can view the hearing HERE. 

• Executive action was taken in the Senate State Government Tribal Affairs & Elections on January 30th. Passed out of committee. Will be referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee. You can view the hearing HERE. 

• Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means on Feb 5th. You can view the hearing HERE.

• Scheduled for executive session in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means on Feb 9th at 10:30 AM. You can view the hearing HERE.

Bill Summary: 

• Directs county auditors to schedule meetings with federally recognized Indian tribes to discuss the details of the next regularly scheduled election cycle.

• Authorizes the Secretary of State to employ an electronic ballot portal for service voters, overseas voters, disabled voters, and any elector who is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and resides on an Indian reservation.

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HB 2333 (Companion bill: SB 6095) - Protecting elected officials and candidates, executive state officers, election officials, and criminal justice participants against threats and incidents of political violence.

Status & Hearings: 

• A public hearing was held in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on January 14th. You can view the hearing HERE.

• Executive session taken in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on Jan 28th. Passed out of committee. Referred to House Appropriations. You can view the hearing HERE.

• Public hearing was held in the House Committee on Appropriations on Feb 6th. You can view the hearing HERE.

• Scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Appropriations on Feb 9th at 10:30 AM (Committee materials). You can view the hearing HERE.

Bill Summary: 

• Adds protections against threats or harassment of elected officials by providing for increased penalties for the crime of harassment, expanding the Address Confidentiality Program to elected officials, and providing for residential security assessments and necessary personal security measures to address dangers or threats that would not exist but for the individual's status or duties as an elected official.

• Prohibits the disclosure of the residential address of elected officials, candidates, criminal justice participants, election officials, and those who reside with any such person, contained in campaign finance reports or records, property records, voter registration rolls, and candidate declarations.

• Expands the types of reimbursable out-of-pocket personal expenses for campaign and surplus funds to include expenses incurred to purchase a personal security measure.

• Creates the Legislative Member Security Account and authorizes a legislator to use funds from that account or their member business expense account to pay for necessary personal security measures.

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HB 2262 - Civics education for public school students through instruction and information about the production and use of official signature.

Status & Hearings: 

• Public hearing in the House Committee on Education on Jan 29th. 

• Executive action taken in the House Committee on Education on Feb 3rd. Passed out of committee. Referred to House Rules.

Bill Summary: 

• Requires that the content of mandatory high school civics classes include instruction in producing legible, repeatable, official cursive signatures and how signatures are used by election officials.

• Requires statewide election reports of the Office of the Secretary of State to include certain information about ballots that were rejected for signature mismatches.

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SB 5973 (Companion HB 2259) – Protecting the integrity of the state initiative and referendum process by requiring a demonstration of support before issuance of a ballot measure title and authorizing citizen actions for certain signature gatherer compensation violations.

Status & Hearings: 

• A public hearing was held in the Senate State Government Tribal Affairs & Elections on January 20th. You can view the hearing HERE. 

• Executive action was taken in the Senate State Government Tribal Affairs & Elections on January 23rd. Passed out of committee. The bill will move to the Senate Rules Committee. You can view the hearing HERE. 

• Placed on second reading in Senate Rules Committee. Sent to the Senate Floor for a possible vote.

Bill Summary of First Substitute: 

• Prohibits an individual from providing or receiving money or other consideration for signature gathering based on the number of signatures obtained on an initiative or referendum petition.

• Requires that a minimum of 1000 signatures be submitted as part of the filing of a proposed initiative.

HB 2259 (Companion SB 5973) – Protecting the integrity of the state initiative and referendum process by requiring a demonstration of support before issuance of a ballot measure title and authorizing citizen actions for certain signature gatherer compensation violations.

Status & Hearings: 

• A public hearing was held in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on January 21st. You can view the hearing HERE. 

• This bill will not move forward, as the Senate bill is now the main bill.

Bill Summary: 

• Prohibits an individual from providing or receiving money or other consideration for signature gathering based on the number of signatures obtained on an initiative or referendum petition.

• Requires that a minimum of 1,000 signatures be submitted as part of the filing of a proposed initiative or referendum.

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HB 2260 - Requirements pertaining to signatures and addresses of ballot measure petitioners and petition signature gatherers.

Status & Hearings:

• A public hearing was held in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on January 21st. You can view the hearing HERE.

• This bill is not moving forward. 

Bill Summary: 

• Requires a petition signature gatherer circulating an initiative or referendum to sign the declaration on each sheet of the petition and amends the contents of the declaration.

• Requires the Secretary of State to verify that the residence address provided by a petition signer is the same as the address contained in the signer's voter registration for purposes of verifying a signature on an initiative or referendum petition.

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HJR 4209 - Concerning congressional redistricting between decennial censuses.

Status & Hearings: 

• A public hearing was held in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on January 21st. You can view the hearing HERE.

• This bill is not moving forward. 

Bill Summary: 

• Proposes a state Constitutional Amendment to allow the legislature to redraw districts outside of usual redistricting cycle that take place every ten years following the census. In January of each year ending in one, a commission shall be established to provide for the redistricting of state legislative and congressional districts.

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