(1) The governor shall make a decision, in consultation with the office of the secretary of state, as to whether each agency identified in subsection (3) of this section shall implement automatic voter registration. The final decision is at the governor's sole discretion.
(2)(a) Each agency identified in subsection (3) of this section shall submit a report to the governor and appropriate legislative committees no later than December 1, 2018, describing:
(i) Steps needed to implement automatic voter registration under chapter 110, Laws of 2018 by July 1, 2019;
(ii) Barriers to implementation, including ways to mitigate those barriers; and
(iii) Applicable federal and state privacy protections for voter registration information.
(b) In preparing the report required under this subsection, the agency may consult with the secretary of state's office to determine automatic voter registration criteria and procedures.
(3) This section applies to state agencies, other than the health benefit exchange, providing public assistance or services to persons with disabilities, designated pursuant to RCW 29A.08.310(1), that collect, process, and store the following information as part of providing assistance or services:
(a) Names;
(b) Traditional or nontraditional residential addresses;
(c) Dates of birth;
(d) A signature attesting to the truth of the information provided on the application for assistance or services; and
(e) Verification of citizenship information, via social security administration data match or manually verified by the agency during the client transaction.
(4) Once an agency has implemented automatic voter registration, it shall continue to provide automatic voter registration unless legislation is enacted that directs the agency to do otherwise.
(5) Agencies may not begin verifying citizenship as part of an agency transaction for the sole purpose of providing automatic voter registration.
[ 2018 c 110 § 202.]
NOTES:
Short title—Findings—Intent—2018 c 110: See notes following RCW 29A.08.355.