The consent decree now states that Washington residents who have lived at a particular address for longer than 30 days no longer need to meet any durational limits to vote, while new residents still had to meet the 30-day requirement. This decree stipulated the removal of the residency requirement not just for federal elections, but for state elections as well, unless the state imposes a new durational registration requirement by August 1, according to The Center Square.
Despite the constitutional mandate, the Secretary of State’s rulemaking session on June 25 adopted the change, eliminating the need for voters to attest to a 30-day residency. An archival capture from June 13 revealed that the SOS voter registration form had already been updated to reflect this change.
More from The Center Square: The change has drawn criticism from some political candidates, including Dale Whittaker, running for Secretary of State as a Republican. In a post on his campaign website, he wrote that “the Consent Decree is a backroom deal that bypasses the state constitution, legislature, and the citizens of Washington. This is a power-grab by activists using the courts and willing supplicants to make wholesale changes to state election practices hoping it flies under the radar of public and legal scrutiny. The 30-day residency requirement is a constitutional mandate that cannot be disregarded, and the recent court action does just that.”
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Kittitas County Auditor Bryan Elliot expressed concerns about the rapid implementation of this change in a presidential election year. He said in an email to The Center Square, “Our offices are agile, but this action has the potential to create further mistrust of the voter registration system, especially when state law and the state constitution both still contain language that is contrary to the consent decree.”
Elliot also noted the unbudgeted expenses his county would incur to update and replace voter registration forms and notices, which contain references to the 30-day residency requirement. This change, he suggested, would need to be prioritized to comply with the new ruling.
