This bill creates a new chapter in Title 29A RCW establishing administrative procedures for consultation with Indian tribes and for limited electronic ballot return. It requires county auditors to meet with each federally recognized Indian tribe with lands in the county by August 1 of each odd-numbered year to plan for the next regular election, and to hold a confirmation meeting by September 1 of each odd-numbered year, with ongoing meetings in election years if a tribe elects to establish voting centers or ballot drop boxes. If an auditor cannot contact a tribe, the auditor must ask the secretary of state (SOS) to facilitate contact; a tribal representative may likewise ask the SOS to facilitate contact. The SOS’s tribal liaison may assist. The bill directs the SOS to establish and approve an electronic ballot-return portal limited to service voters, overseas voters, voters with disabilities, and tribal members residing on reservations; only those voter groups may use an approved portal. The SOS may approve portals for county use, require annual renewal, remove approval by rule to protect integrity and secrecy, develop and test secure ballot-return methods, and adopt rules about portal operation and testing. County election offices using an approved portal must record all portal ballot-return attempts, report numbers and confirm eligible use at the end of each voting period according to RCW 29A.60.190 deadlines, and the SOS must aggregate that information into the statewide reconciliation report under RCW 29A.60.235. A time-limited work group chaired by the SOS and including specified members will advise implementation; that work group expires January 1, 2034. The act’s provisions must be implemented by January 1, 2029. This is primarily an administrative and procedural change creating new statutory duties and oversight for the SOS and county auditors and establishing a restricted electronic ballot-return method; it does not create new crimes or change penalties in the extracted facts. The extracted facts reference other RCWs for voter definitions and for reporting deadlines, but the specific chapter number assigned in Title 29A, the text of the referenced RCWs, technical specifications for portals, and detailed timelines beyond the dates above are not provided in the extracted material.

If enacted, county auditors will have a recurring, documented duty to meet with federally recognized tribes in their counties every odd-numbered year (and more during election years if tribes choose to host voting centers or drop boxes), which adds predictable outreach and coordination work for county election staff and may require reallocating staff time or resources. The Secretary of State must build and oversee an electronic ballot-return portal limited to service voters, overseas voters, disabled voters, and tribal members living on reservations; the SOS will also approve, renew annually, test for security, set rules, and aggregate county reports, so the SOS office will take on new technical, oversight, and reporting responsibilities and likely associated costs. Counties using an approved portal must log every portal return attempt and submit end-of-period reports confirming only eligible voters used the portal, increasing county recordkeeping and reporting burdens. Important details are not provided in the extracted text: the bill points to other statutes for exact voter definitions and report deadlines, does not spell out technical standards, certification, or funding sources, and does not show the new chapter number. A work group chaired by the SOS (including two county auditors, a UW Evans School representative, and a nonprofit research representative) will advise implementation and expires January 1, 2034, and the act’s provisions must be implemented by January 1, 2029, but how costs will be covered or technical requirements enforced is left unclear.