Know your rights as a voter!

Who can register? You can register to vote if you will be 18 or over on election day, and have lived in your precinct for 30 days immediately preceding the election.

A person convicted of a felony can register to vote in Washington once they have completed their sentence.  See below for details on getting voting rights restored.

The deadline for mail-in registration forms is Friday, October 1 at your county courthouse. You may register in person at your county courthouse no later than Monday, October 18.

Don't be disenfranchised! If a poll worker says that you are not registered but you know are or you do not receive your ballot in the mail, you can request a provisional ballot at any precinct in the county and your registration can be verified later.

To avoid problems, make sure that you are registered at your correct address. If you are voting by mail, make absolutely sure. Voters in many student precincts in Pullman are only able to vote by mail. Ballots will not be forwarded.

How do I register? Obtain a voter registration form at the post office or county court house, or you can request or print one at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/register.aspx

Options for voting? Absentee voting, permanent absentee voting, and voting by mail are very similar. All of these involve receiving your ballot in the mail and mailing it back to the county courthouse. If you request this for just one election, it is called absentee voting. If you request this as a permanent arrangement, it is called either permanent absentee voting or voting by mail.

If you don't specifically request to vote by mail, in most instances the county will automatically consider you a poll voter. A poll voter is someone who goes to the polls to vote.

Felons and voting rights: If you are a felon and have fulfilled your sentence, paid your fines and court fees, and are off parole, you can have your civil rights restored and be eligible to vote in the State of Washington.  

How does a felon check to see if their rights have already been restored? How does a person go about restoring their civil rights?  The answers depend on the court and date of conviction.  The best answers can be found at the Washington Chapter of the ACLU and their brochure at http://www.aclu-wa.org/ExFelonVoting/Index.htm.  The Washington Secretary of State also has information at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/voterguide/faq.aspx, and the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board has information at http://www.srb.wa.gov/services.html.

Paid for by Eastern Washington Voters, 412 E. Main St., Suite A, Pullman, WA 9916

(509) 330-1793; info@ewvoters.org; http://www.ewvoters.org