Big Changes Coming To Voting Rights And Access In Washington
Listen
Youth age 16 and 17 will soon be able to pre-register to vote in Washington. That’s just one of several voting-related bills the governor is scheduled to sign into law Monday.
Washington will join states like California, Oregon and Utah that already allow teens as young as 16 to pre-register to vote. Gov. Jay Inslee will also sign bills allowing for same-day voter registration and to allow customers of the state’s Health Benefit Exchange to automatically register to vote.
In addition, Inslee will sign into law a state Voting Rights Act that advocates have been fighting for for years. It allows members of a protected class of voters to bring a legal challenge if they feel their votes are being diluted by at-large elections.
This was an issue in the city of Yakima a few years ago where Latinos comprise 40 percent of the population, but held no seats on the city council. After a lawsuit forced a shift to district-based elections, three Latinos were elected to the council.
Finally, Inslee will sign a bill known as the DISCLOSE act designed to shed light on so-called “dark money” in politics. It will require all nonprofit organizations that spend $25,000 or more on campaigns and elections to file reports with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission.
Supporters say it will lead to greater transparency in campaign spending by non-profits that don’t have a separate political committee. Opponents counter it’s an effort to muzzle free speech.
Related Stories:
Getting out the vote, Northwest tribes say, is an ‘essential part of our civic duty’
Community members registered to vote and learned about their voter registration status at an event hosted by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. (Credit: Courtney Flatt / NWPB)
How Washington is preventing and detecting voter fraud
Ballot drop boxes at Washington State University (Credit: Phineas Pope / NWPB) Listen (Runtime 3:16) Read “Voter fraud” might be the first thing you think when someone mentions election security.
What issues matter most to young voters ahead of the election?
In high school classrooms and on college campuses, students learn about the U.S. system of governance and the country’s political history. This November, some get to make their voice heard in those systems for the first time as voters.
In the Northwest, the issues driving some of these voters vary; from social issues to economics to housing. Still, others are choosing not to vote.
