Washington state Democrats are advancing legislation to expand remote voting through a new electronic ballot portal even as the state faces federal litigation for refusing to turn over voter registration data to the US Department of Justice.
According to The Post Millennial, Senate Bill 6035 would empower the Secretary of State to create an online ballot return system for select categories of voters, including military personnel, citizens living abroad, disabled voters, and tribal members residing on reservations. The measure envisions an electronic portal governed by security protocols, mandatory testing, and detailed reporting requirements, raising fresh questions about whether lawmakers are prioritizing convenience over election integrity safeguards.
Under the proposal, counties opting into the system must log every ballot submission attempt and verify that only eligible voters access the portal, with the Secretary of State compiling annual statewide reports. If signed into law, the bill would take effect 90 days after the legislative session adjourns, with full deployment mandated by January 1, 2029, effectively locking Washington more firmly into a high-tech, mail-indominated voting regime.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Claudia Kauffman, a Democrat from Kent, and co-sponsored by Senators Jamie Pedersen, Noelle Frame, Marko Liias, Twina Nobles, Marcus Riccelli, Patty Kuderer Slatter, Derek Stanford, Claire Wilson Trudeau, and Javier Valdez. By pushing this measure, Democrat legislators are doubling down on expanding access to increasingly digitized voting systems, despite persistent concerns from conservatives about accurate voter rolls and the vulnerability of election processes to abuse.
Washington is one of roughly two dozen states sued by the US Department of Justice for refusing to provide complete statewide voter registration lists to federal investigators. The DOJ maintains that these records are required under the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 so federal officials can determine whether states are properly maintaining their voter rolls.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJs Civil Rights Division, has repeatedly argued that states have no legal authority to withhold voter data or impose conditions on its release. In a recent interview on The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Dhillon said Washington officials do not get to second guess the federal government fulfilling federal law, explaining that the DOJ is reviewing records nationwide to identify registrations linked to deceased individuals, non-citizens, or voters who have moved away.
The DOJ has already brought lawsuits against Washington, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, among others, and has warned that more states could face litigation until all comply. As Democrats in Olympia race to expand electronic voting access while resisting full transparency on voter rolls, critics on the right are likely to see SB 6035 as yet another example of prioritizing progressive election experiments over the basic task of ensuring that only eligible citizens cast ballots.
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