The registrations of deceased voters may be canceled from voter registration lists as follows:

(1) Periodically, the registrar of vital statistics of the state shall prepare a list of persons who resided in each county, for whom a death certificate was transmitted to the registrar and was not included on a previous list, and shall supply the list to the secretary of state.

The secretary of state shall compare this list with the registration records and cancel the registrations of deceased voters.

(2) In addition, each county auditor may also use government agencies and newspaper obituary articles as a source of information for identifying deceased voters and canceling a registration. The auditor must verify the identity of the voter by matching the voter's date of birth or an address. The auditor shall record the date and source of the information in the cancellation records.

(3) In addition, any registered voter may sign a statement, subject to the penalties of perjury, to the effect that to his or her personal knowledge or belief another registered voter is deceased. This statement may be filed with the county auditor or the secretary of state. Upon the receipt of such signed statement, the county auditor or the secretary of state shall cancel the registration from the official state voter registration list.

Effective dates—2004 c 267: See note following RCW 29A.08.010.

Severability—1994 c 57: See note following RCW 29A.16.040.