HB 1448 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Increasing representation and voter participation in local elections.

HB 1448 establishes statewide rules for local governments adopting ranked choice voting (RCV) in elections. It allows counties, cities, school districts, fire districts, and port districts to use RCV for local offices, requiring ballots to let voters rank candidates in order of preference (with at least five rankings per office) and setting clear counting rules for single-winner (instant runoff) and multi-winner (single transferable vote) contests. The bill mandates that single-winner RCV elections must first hold a traditional primary to narrow candidates to five, while multi-winner contests skip primaries. It also requires local governments to implement RCV within two years of adoption and directs the Secretary of State to create rules for ballot design and vote tabulation by May 2026.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Jan 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute Bill → Second Substitute Bill · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered and moved from the State Government committee to the Appropriations committee, changing its reading date. The most significant policy change is the removal of a pilot program for ranked choice voting in Seattle that was designed to support individuals with developmental disabilities. The bill also simplified the public education requirements by shifting responsibility from a joint effort with county auditors to a primary duty of the county auditor, while adding a requirement that the jurisdiction must reimburse the auditor for these costs.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the Seattle pilot program was reduced by removing specific provisions for a pilot program led by individuals with developmental disabilities.

TIMELINE

Removed a new section creating a pilot program to support individuals with developmental disabilities in Seattle's ranked choice voting implementation, which was set to expire in 2028.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the responsibility for public education campaigns: the original version required the jurisdiction to coordinate with the county auditor, while the new version places the primary duty on the county auditor to notify the public and create the campaign.

FISCAL

Added a requirement that the voting jurisdiction must reimburse the county auditor for all costs associated with the public education campaign.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill header to reflect it is now the 'Second Substitute House Bill' and moved it from the State Government & Tribal Relations committee to the Appropriations committee.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Rules Committee relieved of further consideration.

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

lower

Feb 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations at 1:30 PM.

lower

Feb 22, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 9:00 AM.

lower

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.

lower

Feb 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.

lower

Jan 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.

lower

1 primary · 27 co-sponsors