HB 2210 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Protecting local representation by strengthening and securing fair elections in local governments.

HB 2210 authorizes Washington state local governments (counties, cities, towns, school districts, fire districts, and port districts) to adopt ranked choice voting (RCV) or proportional representation for elections. It requires jurisdictions choosing RCV to implement it by December 31, 2032, with specific rules for ballot design, candidate ranking, and election types (e.g., single-winner contests use instant runoff voting). The bill creates legal clarity for these election methods during a six-year period, reducing litigation risk while federal voting rights standards evolve, and allows jurisdictions to continue using approved systems beyond the six years. It does not alter existing voting rights protections under state law.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Dec 30, 2025 Last action Feb 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from H-2667.1 to H-3175.1 and updated to reflect its new status as a Substitute Bill. The primary policy change clarifies that jurisdictions already using ranked choice voting by the effective date are exempt from the new provisions, ensuring they can continue their existing election systems without disruption.

Scope change

The bill now explicitly exempts jurisdictions that adopted ranked choice voting prior to the effective date from the new requirements.

TIMELINE

The bill number changed from H-2667.1 to H-3175.1, and the filing/sponsorship information was updated to reflect its status as a Substitute Bill.

The first reading date was updated from 01/12/26 to 01/27/26.

ELIGIBILITY

The exemption for ranked choice voting jurisdictions was clarified to allow them to continue using their current system if adopted by the effective date.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Feb 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Feb 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations at 9:00 AM.

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action 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 · 18 co-sponsors