Rude sponsors bill for unaffiliated voters
By Terry Murry on Monday, January 25th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
OLYMPIA – State Rep. Skyler Rude (R-Walla Walla) is sponsoring legislation that would open up presidential primaries to unaffiliated voters. He is sponsoring the bill at the request of Secretary of State Kim Wyman.
House Bill 1265 gives voters the option to not declare a party affiliation on the presidential primary ballot. Currently, state law requires voters to mark and sign the party declaration on their ballot envelope. That declaration then is part of the public record for 60 days after the election. Ballots left with a party declaration unmarked or with a vote for a candidate opposite their declared party are rejected and do not count in the results.
While nearly half of the state’s registered voters participated in last year’s presidential primary, the election drew criticism from voters who objected to affiliating with one party or another. Wyman has supported allowing unaffiliated voters taking part in presidential primaries, and that had been practiced in both the 1996 and 2000 primaries. The Washington Legislature removed that option in 2007.
“Considering our elections are paid for by all taxpayers, it seems only fitting that we find ways to make sure our elections are open and available to all voters,” Rude is quoted as saying in a news release from Wyman’s office. “The right to vote is a source of pride for so many people, it’s imperative we remove barriers that discourage voters from participating in our democracy.”
