OLYMPIA, Wash – A group of Washington Republicans wants to change the way people in the state vote, with a bill that would effectively end the state’s practice of voting almost completely by mail.
House bill 1584 is sponsored by several Republican lawmakers, including Mike Volz, Jenny Graham and Mary Dye who represent Spokane/Eastern Washington.
The bill states that the practice of voting by mail has increased turnout but claims “this increase in turnout has come at the expense of ballot security.”
It specifically aims to reimplement in-person voting in Washington, with absentee ballots allowed on a limited basis.
Washington switched to a voting-by-mail process in 2011.
These lawmakers say that voting by mail robs voters of the privacy and security of the voting booth and “instead they are subject to potential intimidation, electioneering, and fraud while filling out and casting a ballot.”
The bill does not include any specific examples of such fraud.
HB 1584 was first read Monday; it’s now been referred to the State Government and Tribal Relations committee.
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