This bill creates a new chapter in Title 29A RCW called the "uniform military and overseas voters act" to align Washington law with the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). It assigns the secretary of state, in coordination with county auditors, responsibility for implementing the act, developing standardized absentee materials and declarations, establishing electronic transmission and free-access status systems, and coordinating rules for military and overseas ("covered") voters. The measure also makes conforming amendments to multiple existing RCW sections. The act makes a series of procedural changes governing registration, ballot transmission, return, and counting for service and overseas voters. It defines covered voter categories (uniformed-service, overseas, dependents), allows registration by federal postcard application or by declaration with a federal write‑in absentee or Washington ballot (if received by 8:00 p.m. on election day), requires county auditors to mail UOCAVA ballots at least 30 days before special elections and 45 days before primaries/general/presidential federal elections, treats a UOCAVA application for a primary as an application for the general, and makes an application timely if received by election day. The secretary must implement electronic options (fax, email, and jurisdiction-offered internet delivery), permit electronic returns by fax, email, or an approved electronic portal for UOCAVA voters with specified receipt deadlines, require county auditors to request and protect covered voters’ email addresses and to honor standing requests for electronic delivery, and require training and statewide standards for signature verification. The bill also sets rules for provisional registration and identification, special absentee ballots (available up to 90 days before an election for voters who cannot return regular ballots by mail), acceptance of minor non‑substantive errors, preservation of ballot secrecy, and deadlines for counting UOCAVA ballots; it authorizes courts to grant equitable relief to enforce the chapter. The secretary must explore and test an electronic ballot portal for UOCAVA voters, report annually to the legislature, and no portal may be approved or deployed without express statutory authority. The chapter modifies and in part supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act as specified. Several details are missing from the extracted text: some provisions are cut off mid-sentence, the exact new chapter number in Title 29A is not shown, specific amendment language for the listed RCWs and reenactments is not included, and effective and expiration dates referenced in the bill header are not provided.

If enacted, the bill will expand how military and overseas voters can register, receive, and return ballots by requiring the Secretary of State to create electronic transmission and free-access systems, standardized materials, and to explore a secure electronic ballot portal while county auditors must begin mailing UOCAVA ballots earlier (30 days for special elections, 45 days for primaries and general/federal contests), collect email addresses, provide ballots electronically on request, accept fax/email/approved portal returns by strict deadlines, send special absentee candidate lists, and follow tightened signature-verification and provisional-registration procedures. It also makes clear when ballots are timely (postmark, signed declaration, or received by set certification deadlines), reduces some technical rejection grounds, and requires auditors to train staff and publicly list trained canvassing members. The people most affected are the Secretary of State, county auditors and canvassing boards, and covered voters (uniformed-service and overseas voters). Secretarial and county offices will take on new operational and reporting duties, likely increasing costs for developing and running electronic systems, secure transmission and storage, earlier mail and postage outlays, staff training, and recordkeeping; counties also bear risks around safely handling electronic returns and meeting tight mailing/transmission schedules. Covered voters gain more registration and delivery options and added protections against some late-postmark rejections, but specifics about portal approval, some transmission details, and the act’s effective and expiration dates are not included in the provided excerpts.