Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Committee reviews national military/overseas voting standards and debates secure electronic ballot return for UOCAVA voters
Summary
Substitute Senate Bill 5,017 would adopt the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act and requires the Secretary of State to explore a secure electronic ballot portal for military and overseas (UOCAVA) voters; the committee heard supporters citing access and opponents urging removal of any online ballot-return provisions for security reasons.
At the Feb. 14 hearing, committee staff presented Substitute Senate Bill 5,017, which would adopt the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act (UMOVA) to incorporate federal protections for service and overseas voters into state law and expand some definitions and administrative processes.
Desiree Omley, Office of Program Research staff, summarized key changes: UMOVA adopts federal UOCAVA protections for service and overseas voters and extends them in limited ways for state and local elections; the bill expands the definition of overseas voters to include certain persons who would have been eligible to vote in Washington but for residency requirements, and it requires county…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
