Constitution requires residency
PASCO — With less than 30 days to go in the Nov. 5 general election, a county auditor and state representative want to intervene in an effort to sweep away the constitutional residency requirement to vote.
Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton of Pasco and 19th Legislative District Rep. Jim Walsh of Aberdeen, both Republicans, are seeking to require to state elections officials to follow the state Constitution or go about a legal change to the constitution.
At issue is the unilateral decision by Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, King County Auditor Julie Wise and Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall, all Democrats, who agreed to remove the 30-day attestation from voter registration.
The trio had the language stricken in a backroom deal with the liberal political action committee, Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans, after the organization filed suit. To end the lawsuit, Hobbs, Hall and Wise signed a consent agreement in November 2023 to strike the language from voter documents.
The deal largely went unnoticed statewide until the Aug.1, when the new rule from the Secretary of State’s Office officially went into effect and Beaton and others auditors in the remaining 36 counties noticed the 30-day requirement had been stripped from voter registrations.
Represented by the Ard Law Group, Beaton and Walsh filed to intervene on behalf of legitimate Washington voters, filing in court Sept. 16.
“It’s purely a constitutional argument,” Beaton said Monday, Oct. 7. “Residency matters.”
Under the state constitution Article VI, Section 1, to be a resident and vote, you must be 18 years old and have lived within your voting precinct at least 30 days immediately prior to any election.
Their motion to intervene in the unilateral lawmaking in violation of the constitution is set for 10 a.m. Friday in a Tacoma courtroom, Beaton said.
The purpose of the attempted intervention is to make state and county election officials follow the constitution or change the language in the manner required by law, especially since election officials are not allowed to ask for proof of residency and citizenship.
Beaton said the effort to quietly remove the 30-day residency requirement is an end-run around the constitution smacking of politics, as everyone involved in the decision is a Democrat.
A constitutional change should not be made by just a handful of people all belonging to the same political party, Beaton said.
Even the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans is a left-leaning organization, led by Chairwoman Jackie Boschok, who has a long list of donations to Democrats. She also donated to campaign funds for State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who represented Hobbs and the state in the deal.
Fishing, hunting
Beaton noted the state forces compliance with the Constitution’s residency requirement on other benefits. In some instances, the state residency requirements far exceed the constitution.
“Try to catch a fish (without establishing residency),” Beaton said.
According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, those applying for a state hunting or fishing license must have “maintained a permanent place of abode within the state for at least 90 days preceding license purchase.”
If intervention is granted, Beaton said he doesn’t know what it will mean for prospective voters in this election who may have registered to vote after Oct. 5.
It would likely mean changes to the way the late voter and motor-voter registrations are handled. But Beaton said he’s not worried about the outcome.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said, noting his goal is to ensure compliance with the law and state constitution.
If he is allowed to intervene, and his argument ultimately wins in court, the state will have at least three options —comply with the Constitution, follow the legal process for a change to the constitution or allow election workers to ask for proof of 30-day residency, such as a dated utility bill or property tax documents.
The last time the state residency requirement was changed was in 2011, when 73.13% of state voters approve language establishing the 30-day minimum.
Beaton said the answer is simple:
“Let’s return the 30 days to the oath,” he said. “The manner in which we change matters.”
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, columnist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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