(The Center Square) – Washington ranks near the bottom of a newly updated election integrity scorecard from the Heritage Foundation, continuing the debate over voter registration, election rolls and the state’s vote-by-mail system.
The Heritage Foundation’s 2026 Election Integrity Scorecard ranks Washington 46th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
“Election laws should be strongly enforced by state authorities to deter election crimes or fraudulent activity,” reads a statement from Heritage Foundation accompanying the report. “Americans need and deserve a system in which it is easy to vote and hard to cheat.”
Minnesota, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Vermont, California and Hawaii make up the bottom six. Tennessee ranked first with 87 of the 100 available points, followed by Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida.
Heritage describes the scorecard as an assessment of state election laws, regulations and procedures compared with recommendations developed by the foundation. The 2026 methodology evaluates 15 areas, including voter identification, voter-registration list maintenance, documentary and citizenship verification, absentee-ballot rules, automatic registration, election observers, post-election audits and foreign funding of ballot measures.
Heritage specifically increased the weight of proof-of-citizenship and related voter-list maintenance provisions in its September 2026 update.
Washington had low scores in most of the categories tracked, with the report finding the state lacking in nearly every field it ranked.
Washington Republican Party Chairman and state Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, said the ranking reflects concerns he has raised about the state’s voter-registration system.
“There is no proof when people register to vote,” Walsh said. “There’s a mistaken belief there is proof of citizenship in Washington. All there is is a checked box, saying ‘I am a legal voter."”
Washington’s registration system requires voters to affirm that they are U.S. citizens, but Walsh said he believes Washington should require documentation of citizenship and improve the maintenance of voter-registration databases.
“I have tried several times to get an initiative launched to require actual proof to register to vote, but it has been a struggle,” Walsh said.
He also criticized Washington’s automatic voter registration system, arguing that people can be registered through interactions with state agencies without sufficient citizenship verification.
Washington’s Secretary of State says automatic voter registration applies when a person provides proof of U.S. citizenship during certain services with authorized state agencies. One example is obtaining an enhanced driver’s license or enhanced identification card through the Department of Licensing.
The Secretary of State’s office responded to The Center Square regarding the report via email.
“The Heritage Foundation report uses several criteria which have been found unlawful or are currently in legal dispute,” said an unsigned email from the agency’s communications department.
“The Washington Office of the Secretary of State is committed to protecting voters’ rights and will continue to administer free, fair, and accessible elections,” the email said.
Walsh said voter-roll maintenance is another area that needs improvement, although the report gave Washington 18 out of 21 points in the “Accuracy of Voter Registration Lists” category.
“The most important thing to do is actually follow the law and require voter databases are updated on an ongoing basis as law requires,” Walsh said.
Washington law requires the Secretary of State to maintain a centralized statewide voter-registration database and requires coordination with other government databases, including the Department of Licensing, Department of Corrections, Department of Health and county auditors.
State law also requires an ongoing program to detect people registered or voting in more than one county.
The Secretary of State’s office says the statewide voter-registration database is updated at the beginning of each month.
Walsh argues that the state should do more to identify people who have died, moved out of state or otherwise become ineligible.
“If mailing lists aren’t well maintained, thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of legal ballots are sent out to people who aren’t there,” Walsh said. “Mail-in can be more secure, but the system in Washington isn’t secure.”
He said his concerns are not an argument against mail voting itself.
“This isn’t an attack on vote by mail,” Walsh said. “If you like it, you want the system to be more secure so your ballot counts.”
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs has disputed the broader characterization that the state’s election system is insecure.
In August, Hobbs said Washington has a “proven track record” of maintaining a secure and accurate voter roll and said the state’s list-maintenance practices comply with state law, the federal Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act.
Hobbs has also pointed to the rarity of documented voter fraud. In an Aug. 31 statement, he said Washington had five cases of voter fraud between 2008 and 2025 out of approximately 90 million ballots cast during that period.
He said state and county election officials remain focused on administering a secure and fair November election.
His agency said options makes it easier for voters to have their voices heard.
“Options for voters to register, update their registration, or submit their ballot make elections more accessible to eligible voters and encourage participation in elections” said the SOS email to The Center Square.
“Washington has invested the time and resources to build the infrastructure and systems required to support vote by mail and has been doing so since regularly since 1983. We maintain election security and integrity through layered security measures, and partnership with state and federal agencies, detailed on our website.”
Walsh said Washington should respond to the Heritage report’s findings by strengthening voter-registration verification and maintaining voter rolls more aggressively.
“We need better quality control,” Walsh said.
He also argued that greater voter participation can help address concerns about election security.
“The answer is more voting, more involvement, to get people to fix these problems into office,” Walsh said.