Key Takeaways: 

1. Same Day Registration (SDR) in Washington State: Voters can register or update their information in-person until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. 

2. Launch of VoteWA: The statewide voter registration database updates in real-time, ensuring no one can register or vote more than once.   

3. 30-Day Residency Rule Overturned: A 2024 federal court ruling eliminated the 30-day residency requirement, declaring it unconstitutional under federal law. 

4. Voter Protection: Federal law overrides state constitutions in protecting voting rights, ensuring that voters who have recently moved can still participate in elections. 

5. Historical Context: The court ruling aligns with the 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dunn v. Blumstein, which struck down lengthy residency requirements. 

6. Improved Voter Access: Washington's Same Day Registration and the removal of the 30-day residency barrier make voting more accessible, promoting greater participation and reinforcing democracy. 

Background: 

In Washington State, voters can register to vote or update their registration information in-person up to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, thanks to Same Day Registration. This system was introduced under SSB 6021, which was passed in 2018 and took effect in June 2019. It allows voters to register or update their address at a voting center or county elections office even on Election Day and receive a ballot the same day. This change gives voters more time and flexibility to ensure their information is up-to-date, making it easier to participate in Primary, Special, or General Elections. 

As Washington implemented Same Day Voter Registration, we also launched VoteWA, a statewide voter registration database. This statewide database is shared by election staff in all 39 counties and updates in real-time. This ensures that no one can register or vote more than once in Washington State. 

Even after the Same Day Voter Registration law went into effect, there remained language in the Washington State Constitution which required voters to reside in the state, county, and precinct for 30 days prior to the election. In November 2023, the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans filed a lawsuit challenging this provision as violating the Voting Rights Act and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. 

In March 2024, a federal judge entered a consent decree in the retiree group’s lawsuit. Under the terms of the court’s order, individuals registering to vote will no longer be required to attest that they have resided at their Washington address for at least 30 days immediately before the next election. Further, individuals will not be denied the right to register to vote or to vote on the basis that they did not reside at their current address for at least 30 days before election day. The court agreed with the retiree group that by preventing eligible voters who had recently moved from voting, even though they could legally register under current voter registration laws, the state constitution conflicted with federal constitutional protections and law. 

We have heard some confusion about the validity of the federal court’s order given the fact that the contested language still appears within the text of the Washington State Constitution. The misunderstanding stems from outdated information and confusion about federal versus state law.  

This challenge was based on the precedent set by Dunn v. Blumstein, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case from 1972. In that case, Tennessee’s one-year state residency was struck down because they violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court ruled that such restrictions were unnecessary for ensuring election integrity and unfairly penalized people who had recently moved. 

Washington’s own residency requirement followed a similar path. After Dunn v. Blumstein, the state stopped enforcing its own one-year residency rule. In 1974, voters passed SJR 143, amending the state constitution to reduce the requirement to 30 days, in line with federal rulings. This amendment also modernized other outdated election laws, such as granting voting rights to tribal members and lowering the voting age to 18.  

Election administrators in the 1970s knew the state-wide vote was a way to align Washington law with federal rulings (from the Seattle Times), which had already thrown out the previous one-year deadline: 

Don Whiting, acting state elections supervisor, said recently that (SJR 143) would make no changes in the elections procedures which already have been changed to match federal requirements.

However, he said that approval of the proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate confusion in the minds of many young persons and new residents who refer to the Constitution to find out if and when they can vote. 

"Neither passage nor defeat of the proposition will have any effect on the administration of elections," he said. 

In 1972, the Supreme Court in Dunn v. Blumenstein also specifically called out that voter registration deadlines were needed to “complete whatever administrative tasks are needed to prevent fraud and insure the purity of the ballot box.” With the modern technology now available in VoteWA (our statewide voter registration database), however, those tasks are now near instantaneous. 

Decades later, as Washington adopted Same Day Registration in 2019 and eliminated more restrictive registration deadlines, the 30-day residency rule became an unnecessary barrier to voters.  

The 2024 federal court ruling made it clear: Washington’s 30-day residency requirement was unconstitutional, just like Tennessee’s rule decades earlier. Federal law, including the U.S. Constitution, has supremacy over state constitutions when it comes to protecting voting rights, meaning Washington can no longer require a 30-day residency period. 

Same Day Voter Registration is effective and legal  

As of 2024, voters in Washington State no longer need to meet a 30-day residency requirement to register to vote.  

You can register on or before Election Day, regardless of how long you've lived in the state, and update your registration in-person all the way up until the polls close at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. This policy, coupled with Washington’s Same Day Registration system, ensures that every eligible voter can participate in elections, making voting more accessible and strengthening democracy.