Bill seeks to modernize irrigation-district elections with mail ballots, relaxed absentee rules and new security standards

Senate Bill 5669, which the Local Government Committee considered on Wednesday, proposes several changes to the way irrigation district elections are conducted. Kellen Wright, committee staff, and Senator Nikki Torres, sponsor, described the bill as an effort to align century-old election rules with modern practices and to increase participation in irrigation district elections.

Irrigation districts are special purpose districts that serve a range of functions including irrigation works, electricity sales, water and sewer systems and street lighting. Under current law, director elections are annual and voter eligibility is based on property ownership; voters receive votes based on acreage and in some larger districts business entities have voting rights under narrow conditions.

SB 5669 would allow any qualified voter to use an absentee ballot without the current requirement that the voter certify they cannot conveniently be present and without the requirement that a witness observe and certify the absentee voter’s actions. The bill would also permit a district board to adopt a resolution to conduct elections entirely by mail in lieu of polling places; in such cases districts would be required to provide ballots to qualified electors using district records and provide two envelopes for security.

The bill would extend the mail receipt deadline for ballots mailed to the district secretary from five days after the election to seven days, change the canvass to begin on the second Wednesday after the election instead of the first Monday, and add several security requirements such as requiring at least two non-candidate persons when ballots are handled, batch counting after polls close, tamper-proof ballot boxes, public canvassing and retention of election logs for six months. The bill also prescribes that election officials involved in carrying out election duties cannot be candidates on the ballot and creates criminal penalties (gross misdemeanor) for willful violations such as removing ballots from drop boxes without authority or deceiving voters.

Proponents—John Stumiller of the Washington State Water Resources Association and Michelle Keys, an Eastern Washington farmer—said the law is outdated (original provisions date to 1890) and that modernizing procedures would help increase participation, especially where geographic distance reduces turnout. Stumiller said irrigation districts have already adopted some improvements but need statutory authority to modernize further. Michelle Keys said the bill has been refined over several years with input from auditors, county officials and districts.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about definitions (for example, “accessible land”), ballot costs, and how voting qualifications differ by district acreage; staff offered to provide detail outside the hearing. The committee took no vote during the hearing.