Efforts to improve voter access in jails passed out committee with clarifying amendments and a delayed timeline for penalties.

HB 1146 establishes new requirements and expectations for how jails manage and conduct voting activities for people who are incarcerated. The House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee passed an amended version of the bill that:

• Removes the requirement for jails to accommodate candidate access to the facility;
• Specifies that county and state election officials are subject to standard local jail clearance processes and may be reasonably limited on the duration of visits and areas they can access;
• Requires that election-related materials from the county or Secretary of State’s Office must be treated as legal mail; and
• Delays the ability of the Attorney General’s Office to bring a cause of action against a jail for violating these new statutes until July 31, 2030.

The bill now awaits further action in the House.

Expanding voting access in jails focus of Secretary of State bill

January 27, 2025

The Secretary of State in partnership with several House representatives looks to improve access to voting services in jails and state hospitals.

HB 1146, sponsored by Reps. Tara Simmons (D–Bremerton) and Darya Farivar (D–Seattle) and requested by the Secretary of State’s Office, would create new requirements for accommodating voting in city and county jails as well as state hospitals.

The new requirements would fall to the county auditor to create a voting plan for each jail and state hospital within their respective county. The auditor would work with each jail’s voting coordinator to develop the plan, and the plans would need to be jointly adopted by the county auditor and jail.

Initial plans would need to be adopted by January 1, 2026, and reviewed and readopted at least every two years.

The voting plan would need to include how the jail would help inmates to:

• Register to vote or update their voter registration;
• Access information and materials related to voting; and
• Complete their ballots in private.

Additionally, the plan would need to include details about how the jail would:

• Provide visible information within the jail on voting and registering to vote;
• Establish a process for voting-related requests and complaints to be documented;
• Accommodate people with disabilities; and
• Provide equal access to candidates who request to campaign in jails.

The bill provides authority to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to investigate and bring action against a jail for violating the requirements of this bill. Violations carry a fine of $25,000 per violation.

The direct fiscal impact on city jails is unclear. However, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) estimates that the cost of creating and implementing voting plans would be over $100,000 annually per jail.

In Washington state, all registered voters retain the right to vote even if an individual is in jail. The only exception being a person convicted of a felony serving a sentence of total confinement under the supervision of the Department of Corrections.

Dates to remember

HB 1146 is scheduled for executive session in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on Friday, January 31 at 8 am.