New WA laws expand voting access and convenience

The state Legislature created new legal guidelines to assist make sure the integrity of elections and enhance entry to the poll. All had been enacted on the request of Secretary of State Steve Hobbs.

One measure permits for on-line voter registration with the final 4 digits of a Social Safety quantity as an alternative of a driver’s license or state ID quantity.

One other makes voter registration computerized for individuals who have proved their citizenship whereas making use of for an enhanced driver’s license or enhanced state ID card.

Nonetheless one other invoice prohibits political campaigns from utilizing false photographs, movies or audio with no disclosure that the fabric has been manipulated.

On-line voting registration is smart in a nation that skilled the shutdown of private and non-private places of work and the long-lasting results of the pandemic. The final 4 digits of a Social Safety quantity are sometimes extra guarded than a driver’s license or state ID card, thus Senate Bill 5208 is an efficient use of expertise.

For brand spanking new residents, SB 5112 will make voting extra handy as soon as the individual applies for an enhanced driver’s license or state ID. The change will probably provide some new residents the primary probability to take part within the democratic course of.

The invoice to control using manipulated photographs and audio, SB 5152, is in response to using expertise that may make it seem as if somebody mentioned or did one thing they really didn’t. “Deepfake” marketing campaign materials can trick voters into pondering what they see and listen to is definitely true. California has put limits on its use in campaigns and different states have thought of related measures.

Campaigns in Washington focused by deepfakes can now go to court docket to hunt an injunction and sue for damages.

All of those modifications are cheap and welcome, and are available at time when belief in our voting system has been challenged. These new measures assist safeguard voting simply in time for this 12 months’s elections and past.