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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - BOCC (003)GRANT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA MEETING REQUEST FORM (Must be submitted to the Clerk of the Board by 12:00pm on Thursday) REQUESTING DEPARTMENT:130CC REQUEST SUBMITTED BY:KBURGESS CONTACT PERSON ATTENDING ROUNDTABLE.. KBURGESS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: DYES RNO DATE. 9/2/2026 PHONE:x2931 Lull go 111"a -NMI DAgreement / Contract SAP Vouchers DAppointment / Reappointment MARPA Related 1-1 Bids / RFPs / Quotes Award 013id Opening Scheduled OBoards / Committees DBudget OComputer Related MCounty Code DEmergency Purchase 0 Employee Rel. 017acilities Related El Financial MFunds Ell-learing F1 Invoices / Purchase Orders ElGrants — Fed/State/County 01-eases 11MOA / MOU DMinutes 00rdinances El Out of State Travel ElPetty Cash OPolicies ElProclarnations 0 Request for Purchase OResolution DRecornmendation F-lProfessional Serv/Consultant iR Support Letter DSurplus Req. DTax Levies OThank You's DTax Title Property 0WSLC1B SUGGESTED WORDING FOR AGENDAi (W 0 What When, Wh, T&"n cost etc ---------- I ------ -- - ----- --- ---------- Letter to State Senators requesting to oppose the inclusion of SAVE America Act Provisions in the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). If necessary, was this document reviewed by accounting? El YES 0 NO 5Q N/A If necessary, was this document reviewed by legal? F-1 YES 0 NO ® N/A DATE OF ACTION: APPROVE: DENIED ABSTAIN D1: D2: D3: DEFERRED OR CONTINUED TO: WITHDRAWN: 4/23/24 GRANT COUNTY OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS P 0 Box 37 EPHRATA WA 9BB23 (509) 754-201 1 September 8, 2026 The Honorable Senator Patty Murray 154 Russell Senate Office Building United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Murray, We write today on behalf of Grant County, Washington, where our elected County Auditor administers federal elections for 56,998 registered voters across 81 precincts. We ask that you oppose the inclusion of SAVE America Act provisions in the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or in any reconciliation package, which would require Grant County to implement new federal registration requirements weeks before Election Day. As you know, counties are the level of government that actually runs elections. The elected County Auditor is responsible for maintaining voter registration records, preparing and testing voting equipment, printing and mailing ballots, recruiting and training election workers, and ensuring a successful Election Day. That work is sequenced months in advance and it is well underway for November 3. The SAVE America Act (H.R. 7296 / S. 3752) is now advancing along two tracks. The House -passed FY 2027 NDAA (H.R. 8800) carries the full text of the bill, and separately, its provisions are under consideration for inclusion in a reconciliation package. The bill would take effect immediately upon passage, with no transition period. In Grant County, ballots were proofed and sent to print on September 1, military and overseas ballots must be transmitted by September 18 and voting equipment will complete logic and accuracy testing on October 8. A new front-end citizenship verification requirement introduced now would require us to reopen work that is already complete, with no additional staff and no additional funding. Our elections officials note the incredible challenge they would face if they were required to review every individual voter record against documentation that has not yet been submitted to us, not to mention the challenge of getting the public to produce those documents or the effort it would take to determine the legitimacy of this documentation. Kevin R. Burgess Rob Jones Cindy Carter District 1 District 2 District 3 "To MEET CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS? SERVING TOGETHER WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTITIES9 WHILE FOSTERING A RESPECTFUL AND SUCCESSFUL WORK ENVIRONMENT." GRANT COUNTY ❑ FFI C E OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS P O Box 37 EPHRATA WA 98823 (509) 754-201 1 The bill provides no dedicated federal funding for any of this. For Grant County, implementation of registration system reconfiguration, additional temporary staff, voter notification and legal review would be prohibitively costly and impossible to accomplish in time. Nationally, the National Association of Counties estimates the bill would add roughly $510 million per election cycle 11.3 times all Help America Vote Act funding currently available ($45 million for FY 2026) . The bill also imposes criminal penalties for registering an applicant who fails to present documentary proof of citizenship, without defining which election actors are liable, and requires officials in certain cases to determine whether an applicant has "sufficiently established" citizenship and sign an affidavit explaining that decision. Nationally, 49.9 percent of counties report difficulty recruiting election workers and 59.2 percent of election workers are age 61 or older. We cannot ask temporary election workers to accept criminal exposure for a good -faith judgment made at a check -in table during a rush of voters, and we expect this provision would cost us workers we have already recruited. Our voters would face the same compressed timeline. Standard REAL ID -compliant driver's licenses do not uniformly establish citizenship; per the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, only enhanced driver's licenses do, and only five states issue them. Research highlighted by the Bipartisan Policy Center found that 9 percent of eligible voters lack or lack easy access to documentary proof of citizenship, 52 percent lack an unexpired passport with their current legal name, and 11 percent cannot access their birth certificate. Applied to our 56,998 registered voters, that points to roughly 101,799 Grant County residents who would need to produce records that they may not be able to access in time, if at all. We respectfully ask that you oppose the inclusion of SAVE America Act provisions in the FY 2027 NDAA, and in any reconciliation package. Should Congress move forward with new federal election requirements, we ask that any such legislation provide sufficient and sustained funding to cover implementation at the county level, allow at least 18 to 24 months before requirements take effect, strike criminal penalties on election workers, and preserve flexibility for how individual states and counties administer elections. Kevin R. Burgess Rob Jones Cindy Carter District 1 District 2 District 3 "TO MEET CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS? SERVING TOGETHER WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTITIES, WHILE FOSTERING A RESPECTFUL AND SUCCESSFUL WORK ENVIRONMENT." GRANT COUNTY OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS P 0 Box 37 EPHRATA WA 98823 (509) 754-201 1 Thank you for your consideration of this request. We would welcome the opportunity to walk your staff through our election operations and would be glad to host a visit to this office before November. Should you have any further questions about what the SAVE America Act would mean for Grant County please do not hesitate to reach out. Sincerely, COUNTY AUDITOR. t Shannon Falstad, Auditor BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Kevin R. Burgess, Chair Kevin R. Burgess District 1 Rcrb-J-6-'fie,s, ice -Chair Rob Jones District 2 JUL Cindy C rter, Member Cindy Carter District 3 "To MEET CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS? SERVING TOGETHER WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTITIES? WHILE FOSTERING A RESPECTFUL AND SUCCESSFUL WORK ENVIRONMENT."