Student Voting Project | Washington

Voting at School

ID Requirements

Only one county in Washington maintains polling places, but all voters in this county who vote at the polls are required to show ID at the polls.[1]  Acceptable forms of ID include any valid photo ID or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or government check or other government document.[2] Student IDs are accepted.[3] Cell phone bills and online printouts are accepted at the discretion of the poll worker.[4] If you don’t have ID, you can vote a provisional ballot, which will be counted if the signature on your ballot matches your registration signature.[5]

If you vote absentee or by mail, you will have to verify your identity.[6] One way to do this is to provide identifying numbers on your registration form, such as a Washington driver’s license or non-driver’s ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.[7]  Or you can submit a copy of one of the above listed forms of ID to the election office; you must do this at least one day before the election results are officially certified (nineteen days after a general election, or ten days after a primary or special election).[8] If the state cannot successfully match your identifying numbers to government databases, you will have to provide ID before the election is certified as described above.

  

Registration Requirements

Mail-in registrations must be postmarked at least 29 days before Election Day.[9]   Registrations submitted in-person are allowed after the deadline, up to the seventh day before the election; however, if you register after the deadline you are only eligible to vote absentee.[10] 

Residency Requirements

Under Washington law, your residency for voting is your permanent address, the place where you physically live and where you maintain your home.  [11]  The Attorney General has specifically stated that with respect to students going to school in Washington, if you have no intention of returning to your parents’ home but don’t know where you plan to move after school, you are able to register and vote in Washington. [12]  All you need is intent to remain in your school community “indefinitely for an appreciable period of time,” which can be until you graduate. [13]

Students who lived in Washington before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their Washington voting residency (i.e., at their parents’ Washington address), should have no problem doing so unless they’ve already registered to vote in another state.  Like all states, Washington allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state.  While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your Washington residency, some judges or officials might view it as such.

Under Washington law, you must get a Washington state driver’s license within 30 days from the date you became a Washington resident. [14] Your voter registration can be used as evidence that you are a Washington resident for these purposes. 

Washington presumes that you are qualified to vote if you register to vote.[15] The law thus makes it difficult to challenge a voter’s eligibility based on residency.  Your eligibility can only be challenged by a signed affidavit (subject to penalties of perjury) filed at any time by another registered voter or by the county prosecuting attorney, or filed on Election Day by the poll site judge or inspector.[16]  In order to legally challenge your eligibility, the challenger must provide substantial evidence to show that you actually live somewhere other than where you claimed to live—not just that your school residence is impermanent.[17]  If your eligibility to vote is challenged, you are entitled to notice and a hearing to determine your eligibility.[18]  The hearing will be before the county auditor, unless it is filed within 45 days of an election, in which case it will be before the county canvassing board.[19]  You may seek judicial review by the superior court of the decision of the county auditor or canvassing board.[20]

Absentee Requirement

Almost all of Washington’s counties conduct elections by mail, rather than maintaining polling sites.[21] Currently only Pierce County (Tacoma) maintains polling sites.[22] If you live in Pierce County, you have to request an absentee ballot; you can also become a permanent absentee voter and always vote by mail.[23] If you’re not a permanent absentee voter, your absentee ballot request for a specific election has to be received by the day before the election, either by mail or by calling the county election office.[24] If you are registered to vote in a vote-by-mail county, your ballot will automatically be mailed at least 18 days before Election Day.[25] You should make sure that your county election office has your current mailing address, so you will receive your ballot. In all counties, you can return your ballot by dropping it at a designated ballot drop site, by submitting it to the county election office, or by mail.[26] If you mail in your ballot, it must be postmarked by Election Day.[27] Ballots that are dropped off at a designated drop site or at the county election office must be received by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.[28]

Voting at Home

ID Requirements

Only one county in Washington maintains polling places, but all voters that county who vote at the polls are required to show ID at the polls. Acceptable forms of ID include any valid photo ID or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or government check or other government document. Student IDs are accepted. Cell phone bills and online printouts are accepted or not at the discretion of the poll worker. If you don't have ID, you can vote a provisional ballot, which will be counted if the signature on your ballot matches your registration signature.

If you vote absentee or by mail, you will have to verify your identity. One way to do this is to provide identifying numbers on your registration form, such as a Washington driver's license or non-driver's ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. Or you can submit a copy of one of the above listed forms of ID to the election office; you must do this at least one day before the election results are officially certified (nineteen days after a general election, or ten days after a primary or special election). If the state cannot successfully match your identifying numbers to government databases, you will have to provide ID before the election is certified as described above.

Registration Requirements

Mail-in registrations must be postmarked at least 29 days before Election Day.   Registrations submitted in-person are allowed after the deadline, up to the seventh day before the election; however, if you register after the deadline you are only eligible to vote absentee.

Residency Requirements

Under Washington law, your residency for voting is your permanent address, the place where you physically live and where you maintain your home. The Attorney General has specifically stated that with respect to students going to school in Washington, if you have no intention of returning to your parents’ home but don’t know where you plan to move after school, you are able to register and vote in Washington. All you need is intent to remain in your school community “indefinitely for an appreciable period of time,” which can be until you graduate. Students who lived in Washington before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their Washington voting residency (i.e., at their parents’ Washington address), should have no problem doing so unless they’ve already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, Washington allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your Washington residency, some judges or officials might view it as such. Under Washington law, you must get a Washington state driver’s license within 30 days from the date you became a Washington resident. Your voter registration can be used as evidence that you are a Washington resident for these purposes. Washington presumes that you are qualified to vote if you register to vote. The law thus makes it difficult to challenge a voter’s eligibility based on residency. Your eligibility can only be challenged by a signed affidavit (subject to penalties of perjury) filed at any time by another registered voter or by the county prosecuting attorney, or filed on Election Day by the poll site judge or inspector. In order to legally challenge your eligibility, the challenger must provide substantial evidence to show that you actually live somewhere other than where you claimed to live—not just that your school residence is impermanent. If your eligibility to vote is challenged, you are entitled to notice and a hearing to determine your eligibility. The hearing will be before the county auditor, unless it is filed within 45 days of an election, in which case it will be before the county canvassing board. You may seek judicial review by the superior court of the decision of the county auditor or canvassing board.

Absentee Requirement

Almost all of Washington’s counties conduct elections by mail, rather than maintaining polling sites.   Currently only Pierce County (Tacoma) maintains polling sites.   If you live in Pierce County, you have to request an absentee ballot; you can also become a permanent absentee voter and always vote by mail.   If you’re not a permanent absentee voter, your absentee ballot request for a specific election has to be received by the day before the election, either by mail or by calling the county election office.

If you are registered to vote in a vote-by-mail county, your ballot will automatically be mailed at least 18 days before Election Day.   You should make sure that your county election office has your current mailing address, so you will receive your ballot.

In all counties, you can return your ballot by dropping it at a designated ballot drop site, by submitting it to the county election office, or by mail.   If you mail in your ballot, it must be postmarked by Election Day.  Ballots that are dropped off at a designated drop site or at the county election office must be received by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

[1] Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 29A.44.205 (2010).

[2] Id. 

[3] Id.

[4] Interview with Christina Rhodes, Customer Service Specialist, Washington Secretary of State's office (May 14, 2008). 

[5] WAC § 434-253-047(7). 

[6] See Wash. Assoc. of Churches v. Reed, No. CV06-0726RSM, Stipulated Order and Final Judgment (Mar. 16, 2007), available at http://www.brennancenter.org/page/-/d/download_file_48236.pdf (last visited on April 27, 2010).  

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 29A.08.140(1)(a) (2010). 

[10] Id. at § 29A.08.140(1)(b).

[11] Id. at § 29A.04.151. 

[12] Op. Wash. Att'y Gen. No. 10 (1971). 

[13] Id.

[14] Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 46.20.021(1) (2010). 

[15] Id. at § 29A.08.810(1).

[16] Id. at (2). 

[17] Id. at (3).

[18] See Id. at § 29A.08.820 (2010).

[19] Id.

[20] Id. at § 29A.08.840(6).

[21] See Washington Secretary of State, “Frequently Asked Questions on Voting by Mail,” available at http://secstate.wa.gov/elections/faq_vote_by_mail.aspx (last visited Feb. 4, 2008).

[22] Id.

[23] Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 29A.40.020 (2010).

[24] Id. at § 29A.40.020(1).

[25] Id. at § 29A.48.070(1).

[26] Id. at § 29A.48.050 (2010).

[27] Id.

[28] Id.