Concerning protection of the voter registration database.
SB 5892 strengthens privacy protections for Washington's voter registration database by exempting specific sensitive information from public disclosure. It prohibits sharing voter contact details (phone/email on ballot envelopes), voter signatures, and technical election infrastructure details, while also protecting voted ballots and related records. The bill makes it a class C felony for election officials to knowingly misuse or disclose confidential voter data like driver's license numbers or social security numbers. Requests for database records must now be directed to the Secretary of State, not local counties, to centralize access and enhance security.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Dec 16, 2025
Signed Mar 25, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Bill
→
Passed Legislature
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally certified as passed by both the Senate and House, adding official legislative history. A key policy change updates the confidentiality section to explicitly include 'local election officers' alongside state officers, broadening the protection against unauthorized disclosure of sensitive voter data. Additionally, the penalty for violating these confidentiality rules was clarified to apply to any 'state or local election officer' who misuses the database.
Scope change
The bill's scope of protected personnel was expanded to include local election officers in addition to state officers regarding the confidentiality of voter registration data.
TIMELINE
Added certification text confirming the bill passed the Senate on March 9, 2026, and the House on February 28, 2026.
REQUIREMENT
Updated the confidentiality rule to explicitly include local election officers as protected individuals who cannot disclose sensitive voter data.
ENFORCEMENT
Clarified that the felony penalty for unauthorized disclosure of voter data applies to both state and local election officers.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 9, 2026 · House Feb 28, 2026
How they voted
32–19
Passed
Total votes 51
Mar 9, 2026
D
Democratic31
100% Yea
R
Republican20
95% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
29
Key actions
15
Committee
10
Mar 25, 2026
Signed into law
Governor signed.
executive
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Speaker signed.
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
President signed.
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed final passage; yeas, 30; nays, 19; absent, 0; excused, 0.
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred in House amendments.
upper
Feb 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee amendment(s) adopted with no other amendments.
lower
Feb 28, 2026
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (58-37-5)
house
Feb 23, 2026
Committee
Referred to Rules 2 Review.
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Minority; do not pass.
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
SGOV - Majority; do pass with amendment(s).
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 8:00 AM.
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Minority; do not pass.
upper
Jan 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
SGTE - Majority; do pass.
upper
Jan 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 10:30 AM.
upper
Jan 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM.
upper
1 primary · 9 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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