---
type: "Bill"
title: "Exempting sensitive voter information on ballot return envelopes, ballot declarations, and signature correction forms from public disclosure."
description: "Exempting sensitive voter information on ballot return envelopes, ballot declarations, and signature correction forms from public disclosure."
jurisdiction: "us/states/wa"
legislature: "Washington Legislature"
session: "2021-2022"
identifier: "HB 1953"
citation: "Washington HB 1953 (2021-2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["ELECTIONS", "RECORDS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Valdez"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 27
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2022-01-12T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c15c8bfd-4ceb-4a79-b27b-0dcc491ee2e4"
source_url: "http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1953&year=2021"
source_hash: "0ca13db4a04d4fa4358ec118e59ac4afad7aeed7e19f10d9c049a11247ed4624"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-wa"]
---

# Washington HB 1953 (2021-2022) — Exempting sensitive voter information on ballot return envelopes, ballot declarations, and signature correction forms from public disclosure.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Bill** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2021-22/Htm/Bills/House%20Bills/1953.htm)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#10) — **69–26** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#32) — **38–10** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Valdez — primary (person)
- Ramel — cosponsor (person)
- Sutherland — cosponsor (person)
- Volz — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2022-01-12T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to State Government & Tribal Relations. `reading-1`
- **2022-01-24T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.
- **2022-01-27T05:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 10:00 AM.
- **2022-01-27T05:00:00+00:00** SGOV - Majority; do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-01-27T05:00:00+00:00** Minority; without recommendation. `committee-passage-unfavorable`
- **2022-01-28T05:00:00+00:00** Referred to Rules 2 Review. `referral-committee`
- **2022-02-07T05:00:00+00:00** Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading. `reading-2`
- **2022-02-09T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2022-02-09T05:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 69; nays, 26; absent, 0; excused, 3. `reading-3`
- **2022-02-11T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to State Government & Elections. `reading-1`
- **2022-02-18T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections at 10:30 AM.
- **2022-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections at 8:00 AM.
- **2022-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** SGE - Majority; do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.
- **2022-03-01T05:00:00+00:00** Placed on second reading by Rules Committee. `reading-2`
- **2022-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2022-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 38; nays, 10; absent, 0; excused, 1. `reading-3`
- **2022-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** Speaker signed. `passage`
- **2022-03-07T05:00:00+00:00** President signed. `passage`
- **2022-03-08T05:00:00+00:00** Delivered to Governor. `executive-receipt`
- **2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** Governor signed. `executive-signature`
- **2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** Chapter 140, 2022 Laws. `became-law`
- **2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** Effective date 3/24/2022. `became-law`
- **2022-01-24T18:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 01:30 PM
- **2022-01-27T15:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 10:00 AM
- **2022-02-18T15:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections at 10:30 AM
- **2022-02-23T13:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections at 08:00 AM

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/c15c8bfd-4ceb-4a79-b27b-0dcc491ee2e4`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Washington legislature records).