This bill amends existing law (RCW 29A.40.170) to change procedures governing ballot drop boxes. It imposes chain-of-custody and security requirements: ballots must be removed from drop boxes by at least two people, a written record of date, time, and names must be kept with a copy placed in the secured transport container and another copy transported with the ballots to the counting center, and the seal number must be verified at the counting center by the county auditor or a designated representative. All drop boxes must be secured at 8:00 p.m. on election day. The amendment also sets minimum access requirements: at least one drop box per 15,000 registered voters in a county and at least one drop box in each city, town, and census-designated place in the county that has a post office. At the request of a federally recognized Indian tribe with a reservation in the county, the county auditor must establish at least one drop box on the reservation at a site the tribe selects that is accessible by public road. A tribe may also designate at least one building as a ballot pickup and collection location at no cost to the tribe, and the county auditor must collect ballots from that location following the same procedures. The bill requires each drop box to display on each visible side a label stating the county or county agency that owns the box and a warning that tampering may violate RCW 29A.84.620 and other election laws. Affected parties include county auditors, agencies that purchase or place drop boxes, counting centers, federally recognized tribes with reservations, and municipalities with post offices. The measure is Senate Bill 5011 (S-0189.1), 69th Legislature, 2025 Regular Session; it was referred to the Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections. The provided text is limited to this amended RCW section. The chunk does not include definitions for terms such as "counting center," "secured transport containers," or "designated representative," and it does not show an effective date, implementation timetable, enforcement mechanisms, penalty changes, or funding details. It is unclear from the excerpt whether other sections of the bill exist.

If enacted, county auditors will likely need to add and maintain more drop boxes, operate them under tighter security rules, and use more staff time to collect and transport ballots. Counties must provide at least one drop box per 15,000 registered voters, one in every city/town/census place with a post office, and at least one on a reservation if a tribe requests it; boxes must be secured at 8:00 p.m. on election day, emptied by at least two people with date/time/name records, placed in secured transport containers with a copy of the removal record, and have their seals checked at the counting center. Drop boxes must also display ownership and a tampering warning. The most affected parties are county auditors and the county agencies that buy or operate drop boxes, counting centers, and tribes that request reservation locations. Counties should expect higher costs and staffing needs for additional boxes, secured containers, two-person collections, travel to remote or tribal sites, and seal verification; tribes gain an option to host pickup locations at no cost but rely on county collection. The bill text provided does not specify funding, enforcement details, exact definitions (for example of “counting center” or “secured transport containers”), or an effective date, which leaves some practical implementation details uncertain.