A proposal to further expand and refine the Washington State Voting Rights Act (VRA) is scheduled for a committee vote this week.

The bill would amend the Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) to make it easier for a plaintiff to bring a suit to court. HB 1048 would allow a person or organization to be awarded up to $50,000 for costs incurred prior to submitting their notice of intent to file a lawsuit against a local government alleging polarized voting if they prevail. Even if an individual or organization does not prevail, the bill still allows the court to award reasonable costs for work prior to filing a claim with no cap on those costs.

HB 1048 also gives standing to organizations and tribes to challenge election systems on behalf of at least one member residing within the jurisdiction.

AWC strongly supports voting rights and ensuring appropriate representation in all levels of government. However, we have concerns about the potential fiscal impact on cities related to the potentially unlimited recovery of costs in cases where a group does not prevail. We continue to try to minimize these impacts while supporting voting rights.

AWC has requested an amendment to apply the $50,000 cap on work conducted prior to the filing of a claim for these cases where a plaintiff doesn’t prevail but can demonstrate that they had an impact on the jurisdictions behavior and voting practices. We have also requested amendment language to better clarify this circumstance of a plaintiff not prevailing in court, but proving that they altered a jurisdictions behavior.

Need a refresher on the WVRA? AWC maintains an implementation webpage.

Dates to remember

HB 1048 is scheduled for a vote in the Senate State Government & Elections Committee on Friday, March 24 at 8 am.