Committee hears bill to centralize public-records requests for statewide voter registration database
February 18, 2026 | Legislative Sessions, Washington
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The State Government and Tribal Relations Committee took testimony on Senate Bill 5892, which would clarify public-records procedures for the statewide voter registration database and restrict which officials may produce records generated by the centralized system.
Committee staff summarized the bill's core provisions: for the statewide voter registration database all public-records requests would be submitted to and fulfilled by the Secretary of State; county auditors receiving PRA requests would be required to redirect requesters to the Secretary of State and would not be permitted to produce records generated by the statewide system. The bill would make knowingly producing those statewide records a class C felony. It would also make it a class C felony for a state or local election officer to knowingly disclose, without authorization from the Secretary of State, a voter's driver's license or ID number, Social Security number, or full birth date if those appear on a registration affidavit.
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the legislation clarifies a preexisting statutory framework and responds to changes in technology since the state adopted a centralized database (referred to in testimony as "VOTWAS"). "This the bill simply clarifies the existing statute related to who may respond to requests of voter data," Hobbs said.
Representative Walsh questioned the centralization the bill would require and pressed whether locally elected auditors should retain discretion to respond to requests. Hobbs and staff said the change responds to the reality that county workers can access the entire statewide database and that sensitive fields require uniform handling.
A remote witness, Laurie Lane of Buckley, testified in opposition, saying the bill does not encourage clean voter rolls and expressing concern about recent Department of Justice actions related to voter-roll maintenance.
The committee closed the hearing without taking a final vote; the bill remains under consideration.
Committee staff summarized the bill's core provisions: for the statewide voter registration database all public-records requests would be submitted to and fulfilled by the Secretary of State; county auditors receiving PRA requests would be required to redirect requesters to the Secretary of State and would not be permitted to produce records generated by the statewide system. The bill would make knowingly producing those statewide records a class C felony. It would also make it a class C felony for a state or local election officer to knowingly disclose, without authorization from the Secretary of State, a voter's driver's license or ID number, Social Security number, or full birth date if those appear on a registration affidavit.
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the legislation clarifies a preexisting statutory framework and responds to changes in technology since the state adopted a centralized database (referred to in testimony as "VOTWAS"). "This the bill simply clarifies the existing statute related to who may respond to requests of voter data," Hobbs said.
Representative Walsh questioned the centralization the bill would require and pressed whether locally elected auditors should retain discretion to respond to requests. Hobbs and staff said the change responds to the reality that county workers can access the entire statewide database and that sensitive fields require uniform handling.
A remote witness, Laurie Lane of Buckley, testified in opposition, saying the bill does not encourage clean voter rolls and expressing concern about recent Department of Justice actions related to voter-roll maintenance.
The committee closed the hearing without taking a final vote; the bill remains under consideration.
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