Adopting national standards for uniformed and overseas civilian voting, including conforming amendments to existing statute.
HB 2206 aligns Washington state voting laws with federal standards to improve voting access for military personnel, overseas citizens, and their dependents. It requires the Secretary of State to implement a new electronic system for sending voter registration materials and ballots, create standardized ballot envelopes and authentication forms, and provide clear instructions for covered voters. This bill directly affects Washington residents serving in the military abroad, citizens living overseas, and their dependents who qualify as "covered voters" under the law. The changes apply to all federal, state, and local elections, ensuring these voters can cast ballots using federally prescribed procedures.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Dec 29, 2025
Last action Feb 19, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Bill
→
Substitute Bill
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered and its procedural history was updated to reflect its status as a Substitute Bill. Substantively, the definition of an 'overseas voter' was expanded to include citizens residing outside the U.S. rather than just those physically outside it, and the list of covered elections was broadened to include primary elections for federal offices. These changes align the state law more closely with federal standards for absentee voting.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include primary elections for federal offices in addition to general and special elections.
DEFINITION
The definition of 'overseas voter' was changed from a citizen 'outside' the United States to a citizen 'residing' outside the United States, broadening eligibility.
SCOPE
The list of covered elections was updated to explicitly include 'primary election for federal office,' expanding the types of elections where these voting procedures apply.
TECHNICAL
The bill was renumbered from HB 2206 to Substitute House Bill 2206, and the procedural header was updated to reflect committee referral and a new read date.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
11
Key actions
4
Committee
5
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Referred to Rules 2 Review.
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Minority; do not pass.
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.
lower
Jan 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 8:00 AM.
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.
lower
1 primary · 11 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Sharlett Mena
DDemocratic
Co
April Berg
DDemocratic
Co
Beth Doglio
DDemocratic
Co
Brianna Thomas
DDemocratic
Co
Chipalo Street
DDemocratic
Co
Cindy Ryu
DDemocratic
Co
Julia Reed
DDemocratic
Co
Kristine Reeves
DDemocratic
Co
Mary Fosse
DDemocratic
Co
My-Linh Thai
DDemocratic
Co
Natasha Hill
DDemocratic
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