Saturday, March 13, 2010
Gregoire signs bills about ballots, escapee notifications and more
The Olympian: Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday signed a measure meant to make ballots less confusing to voters. Under the measure that was unanimously passed by both the House and Senate, ballots will have to be clearly marked to show where ballot instructions end and the spot to vote begins.
The bill was sparked by confusion in King County over a cluttered ballot design that officials say caused about 40,000 voters to skip over Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033 in the November election. State elections director Nick Handy said that the ballot placement issue did not affect the outcome of that race, in which more than 57 percent of voters opposed the measure seeking to growth cap on revenue flowing into the main checking accounts of city, county and state government. But voters who accidentally didn’t vote “were essentially disenfranchised by bad ballot design,” said bill sponsor, Rep. Scott White, D-Seattle.
Under the new law, ballots must have a clear delineation between the instructions and the area to vote, and the secretary of state must establish standards for ballot design and layout. The measure takes effect in June.
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