(1) In addition to those documents specified by RCW 29A.04.255, the secretary of state or the county auditor shall accept and file electronic transmissions of the following documents:

(a) The text of any proposed initiative, referendum, or recall measure and any accompanying documents required by law;

(b) Any minor party or independent candidate filing material for president and vice president, except nominating petitions;

(c) Lists of presidential electors selected by political parties or independent candidates;

(d) Voted ballots and signed ballot declarations from service or overseas voters received no later than 8:00 p.m. on election day;

(e) Resolutions from cities, towns, and other districts calling for a special election;

(f) Voter registration forms and cancellation material(s), unless the form or material(s) is illegible or the signature image is poor quality, requiring the county auditor to reject the form or material(s);

(g) Signed ballot declarations, and any accompanying materials, submitted pursuant to RCW 29A.60.165 and WAC 434-261-053; and

(h) Requests to withdraw a declaration of candidacy.

(2) If payment of a fee is required, the electronic filing is not complete until the fee is received.

(3) No initiative, nominating petition, referendum, recall, or other signature petitions may be filed electronically.

(4) County auditors must use best practices provided by the secretary of state for securely handling documents received by fax and email.

References to times of day (i.e., 8:00 p.m.) are according to Pacific Time.

As chief election officer, the secretary of state shall make reasonable rules consistent with federal and state election laws to effectuate any provision of Title 29A RCW and to facilitate the execution of its provisions in an orderly, timely, and uniform manner relating to any federal, state, county, city, town, and district election. In the event of a natural or manmade disaster or catastrophe, the secretary of state will consult with county auditors of impacted counties to determine the impact of the disaster or catastrophe on the administration of the election, and how best to mitigate that impact. The secretary of state may adopt emergency rules and procedures necessary to facilitate administration of the election in the impacted counties. The emergency rules and procedures must be limited in duration and scope to that necessary to administer the election. A natural or manmade disaster or catastrophe may include, but is not limited to, fire, flood, mudslide, landslide, tsunami, extreme snow or wind, pandemic, technological failure, or broad scale violence or terrorism.

(1) For purposes of RCW 42.17A.005, the secretary of state recognizes as a minor political party a political party whose nominees for president and vice president qualified to appear on the ballot in the last preceding presidential election according to the minor party nomination process provided in chapter 29A.56 RCW. A political party that qualifies as a minor political party retains such status until certification of the next presidential election. This definition is for purposes of chapter 42.17A RCW only.

(2) As allowed by WAC 434-215-012, 434-215-120, and 434-215-130, candidates for partisan office may state a preference for any political party and are not restricted to stating a preference for a political party that meets the definition of major or minor political party. A candidate's party preference does not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by that party, or that the party approves of or associates with that candidate. With the exception of elections for president and vice president, a party's status as a major or minor political party, or a candidate's preference for a major or minor political party, plays no role in how candidates qualify to appear on the primary election ballot, qualify to appear on the general election ballot, or are elected to public office.

Election notices are governed by RCW 29A.04.220 and 29A.52.355.

(1) "Short titles for ballot measures" means the name of the jurisdiction, the measure number, and the heading or caption.

(2) The notice for elderly and disabled person required by RCW 29A.04.220 may be combined with the notice of election required by RCW 29A.52.355 in a single publication.

(3) Public meetings associated with the election include county canvassing board meetings.

The secretary of state and each county auditor must provide information online that includes, at a minimum, how to:

(1) Register to vote using a paper or online application;

(2) Confirm a registration status;

(3) Request a ballot or replacement ballot;

(4) For service and overseas voters, receive a ballot electronically;

(5) Update a residential address or mailing address;

(6) Contact the elections office by phone, fax, email, mailing address, and physical address;

(7) Obtain information about the next election;

(8) For service or overseas voters, return a signed declaration and voted ballot electronically;

(9) Confirm that a voted ballot has been received; and

(10) Obtain election results.