Democratic state lawmakers in Washington want to make it tougher to challenge a voter’s registration as organized efforts to knock residents off the rolls are on the rise.

The state House approved legislation Tuesday to put additional burdens on those challenging residents’ voter registration and to make it a crime if they knowingly provide false information in the process.

Supporters of House Bill 1916, which passed on a party-line 58-38 vote, said it will reduce challenges that can intimidate voters, especially the electorate’s newest registrants.

“Even a baseless challenge can make a voter think twice before going to the polls,” said Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia, the bill’s sponsor, in the floor debate.

Republicans counter that the bill adds obstacles to public oversight of elections by making it more difficult to remove ineligible voters from the rolls.

The bill puts up barriers “to citizens to exercise their lawful duty to act as a check on the system of registering voters that does not have enough checks and balances in it,” said Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen. Walsh is also chair of the Washington State Republican Party.

False claims fuel a movement

Unproven claims of election fraud in 2020 energized political conservatives in Washington to aggressively seek out ineligible voters. At the forefront has been the Washington Voter Research Project, launched by Glen Morgan, which has trained individuals on how to conduct voter registration challenges, including knocking on doors to confirm a voter’s residence.

In 2022, the group canvassed homes in Thurston County and submitted more than 1,000 names of people they thought were improperly on the voter rolls. Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall determined most were properly registered.

The following year, members of the group filed 28 challenges. Hearings were held on 18. Many were conducted in the days ahead of the August primary and November general elections.

To make a challenge, a person fills out a two-page form and checks a box for the reason they think the resident is not properly registered.

The choices are that the challenged voter is not a United States citizen, does not live at the address on their registration, will not be at least 18 by the election, is convicted of a felony in Washington and incarcerated in state prison or has a felony conviction in another state and not had their voting rights restored, or has been found ineligible to vote due to mental incompetency.

As part of the submission, a person must show they took steps to verify the correct residential address of the challenged voter. That means sending a letter with return service requested to all of that voter’s known addresses, as well as attesting to having searched local telephone directories, county property records and voter registration databases in Washington and other states.

House Bill 1916 imposes additional demands.

For example, a person may only challenge a voter who is registered in the same county. They would now have to send a certified letter to a voter’s residential and mailing addresses, if different. They would also have to use a form provided by the Secretary of State’s Office outlining the reason for the challenge.

Also, the legislation would add language requiring challenges to be “based on personal knowledge,” which is defined as “firsthand knowledge through experience or observation of the facts upon each ground that the challenge is based.”

Each challenge must be signed in ink, with electronic signatures rejected. The bill creates new penalties for knowingly providing false information as part of a challenge or knowingly challenging a voter registration without reasonable cause.

The bill also gives county auditors greater latitude to reject meritless challenges and it would only allow hearings if the county auditor is unable to confirm the voter’s eligibility and there is probable cause that the challenged voter is not eligible to vote.

New year, different result

This same bill was teed up for a vote in the final days of the 2025 session. But it didn’t happen as Republicans filed nearly two dozen amendments, a sign they were prepared to filibuster the measure on the floor.

Conversations among legislators throughout the interim resulted in a lowering of the political heat. It showed Tuesday when the measure moved along smoothly with Democrats accepting one of six Republican amendments.

“We wholeheartedly disagree on policy,” Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, chair of the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee. “But, as was evident, we were able to be respectful and polite in our debate.”

This story was originally published by the Washington State Standard.

Washington State Standard reporter Jake Goldstein-Street contributed to this report.