Washington Administrative Code › Title 434 - Secretary of State › Chapter 434-250 - Elections by mail › Section 434-250-105 - Voting centers

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) If a
			 location offers replacement ballots, reissued ballots, provisional ballots, or
			 voting on a direct recording electronic device, it is considered a voting
			 center.
(2) At least one voting
			 center must be open during business hours during the voting period, which
			 begins eighteen days before, and ends at 8:00 p.m. on the day of the special,
			 primary, or general election. Additional voting centers, and additional
			 locations that are not voting centers, established by the county auditor to
			 provide other services are not required to be open for the full eighteen-day
			 voting period. In addition to the requirements of
			 RCW  29A.40.160,
			 each voting center must:
(a) Be an accessible
			 location. "Accessible" means the combination of factors which create an
			 environment free of barriers to the mobility or functioning of voters. The
			 environment consists of the routes of travel to and through the buildings or
			 facilities used for voting. The Americans with Disabilities Act Checklist for
			 Polling Places shall be used when determining the accessibility of a voting
			 center. A voting center is fully accessible if all responses in each category
			 are "Yes";
(b) Be located in a
			 public building or building that is leased by a public entity including, but
			 not limited to, libraries;
(c) Be
			 marked with signage outside the building indicating the location as a place for
			 voting;
(d) Issue ballots that
			 include a declaration in the ballot materials;
(e) Offer disability access voting in a
			 location or manner that provides for voter privacy. For each voting center, the
			 county auditor must have a contingency plan to accommodate accessible voting in
			 the event that an accessible voting unit malfunctions or must be removed from
			 service;
(f) Offer provisional
			 ballots, which may be sample ballots that meet provisional ballot
			 requirements;
(g) Have electronic
			 or telephonic access to the voter registration system, consistent with WAC
			 434-250-095,
			 if the voting center offers voting on a direct recording electronic voting
			 device. The county auditor shall require the voter to print and sign the ballot
			 declaration provided in WAC 434230-015. Ballot declaration signatures may not
			 be maintained in the order in which they were signed. Before the voter may vote
			 on a direct recording electronic voting device, the county auditor must either:
(i) Verify the signature on the ballot
			 declaration against the signature in the voter registration record;
			 or
(ii) Require the voter to
			 provide photo identification, consistent with
			 RCW
			  29A.40.160.
(h) Provide voters' pamphlets;
(i) Provide sample ballots if a full sample
			 ballot is not published in the local voters' pamphlet;
(j) Provide voter registration services
			 pursuant to
			 RCW
			  29A.08.140. If the voter registration system
			 is unable to process applications, the county auditor shall offer conditional
			 registration and balloting services;
(k) Display a HAVA voter information poster,
			 containing an example of an actual ballot or a sample ballot in substantially
			 the same format as an actual ballot;
(l) Display the date of that
			 election;
(m) During a primary that
			 includes a partisan office, and a general election that includes a partisan
			 office, display the appropriate party preference notice provided in WAC
			 434-230-015.
			 The party preference notices may also be posted on-screen in direct recording
			 electronic voting devices;
(n)
			 Provide instructions on how to properly mark the ballot; and
(o) Provide election materials in alternative
			 languages if required by the Voting Rights Act.