OLYMPIA — Hypothetical scenario: A candidate for county executive loses an election, then claims there’s been fraud in the county’s election office and announces that something needs to be done about it.
“And supporters hear that and they decide, ‘Well, I’m going to go and firebomb the place,’” said Sen. David Frockt, D-Seattle. “And they go and firebomb the place.”
“That’s not totally dissimilar, arguably, to what took place on Jan. 6,” said Frockt. “But it’s a little more of an extreme example.”
Frockt’s hypothetical came as he explained Senate Bill 5843, the bill requested by Gov. Jay Inslee that would make it a gross misdemeanor for elected officials or candidates to lie about election results if those lies lead to violence. A gross misdemeanor in Washington can bring a fine of up to $5,000 and confinement in county jail for up 364 days.
After more than a year of fraudulent election claims fueled by former President Donald Trump — and closer to home, unsuccessful GOP gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp — Inslee and Democratic lawmakers are envisioning proposals to shore up democratic systems against those who would work outside the constitutional system.
This year’s proposals include another bill by Frockt that would increase criminal penalties for harassment of election workers. And a bill sponsored by Senate Deputy Majority Leader Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, would strengthen and expand the state’s Voting Rights Act. That proposal, Senate Bill 5597, got a committee hearing Friday and is scheduled for a committee vote next week.
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