Former Washington State Resident Charged with Voter Fraud after Voting in Two States in 2024 Election
New WA Double Voting Law Put to Test amid Legal Debate over Interstate Ballots
A former Cle Elum resident was charged with voter fraud after admitting to casting ballots in Washington and Colorado during the Nov 5, 2024, general election. Prosecutors say Rachel Yvonne Ellis moved to Longmont, Colorado, one month before the election and registered to vote with “unaffiliated” chosen as her political party of preference, but also remained registered in Washington.
When questioned by Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office, she said she voted ballots in both states because of “issues in Colorado she wanted to be heard on,” and claimed she only voted on state/local races in Colorado (not federal ones, like president) and “did not attempt to double vote on national issues twice.”
Authorities say Ellis knew that voting in both states was illegal and was regretful and apologetic, according to court documents. Ellis is no longer registered to vote in Washington.
On June 18, 2026, Ellis appeared in Kittitas County Superior Court for her arraignment via online video. A not-guilty plea was entered by her attorney, Ulvar Klein. Ellis was informed by Judge James Kirkham that she must appear in person for her next hearing on Aug. 27, at which time she will be formally arrested and booked into jail before being released on her own recognizance.
This case will be particularly interesting to track against the backdrop of Washington’s evolving interpretation of double-voting statutes, following the 2026 appellate ruling in WA State v. Padrta.
AS A REMINDER: In Democrat-Controlled Washington State, it appears that under certain conditions, it is now legal to vote in multiple states. That is because the Leftist WA Court of Appeals, Division II, in Washington v. Padrta, issued an unprecedented ruling (reversing a “Double Voting” conviction) on January 6, 2026. No. 59737-3-II
This should have been a clear case proving Mr. Padrta illegally “double voted,” violating RCW 29A.84.650(1), the WA state law prohibiting voting more than once in the same election. Per statute (1) Any person who intentionally votes or attempts to vote in this state more than once at any election, or who intentionally votes or attempts to vote in both this state and another state at any election, is guilty of a class C felony.
After admitting to voting in two states in the Nov 2022 general election and being found guilty in Lewis County Superior Court, Padrta appealed the ruling in June, 2024. In Dec, 2025 the Court of Appeals heard the case and on Jan 6, 2026 the 3 judge panel (all Inslee appointee justices) issued its curious 2-1 split decision, ruled the law did not prohibit voting in Washington and another state in the same election cycle; saying that Padrta did not vote in the same “election” and therefore did not violate RCW 29A.84.650(1).
With one judge dissenting, the majority concluded that the term “election” in the statute is ambiguous, whether “election” refers to the overall voting process or specific contests. The court held that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction under RCW 29A. 84. 650(1) and found the statute could mean either (1) a specific slate of candidates and issues on a particular ballot in one jurisdiction, or (2) the particular date on which an election occurs.
The court majority ended up agreeing with Padrta’s interpretation of the statute: The Washington and Oregon November 2022 general elections were not the same election because they had a different slate of candidates. And Padrta was not guilty because he only voted once in each of two separate elections.
The ruling created ambiguity by narrowly defining “election.” In response, the Legislature passed SB 6084: Clarifying the prohibition on voting more than once in an election (a Democrat sponsored bill signed into law in March 2026), which clarifies that a person may not vote in Washington and another state IF THE ELECTION DATE IS THE SAME. The new law amends 29A.84.650(1), adding language: The legislature finds that it has been and continues to be the law of this state that a person may not vote in an election in Washington and an election in any other state if the election date is the same for both states.
The term "election" refers to any general, primary, or special election. An election is the "same election" if the election date is the same, regardless of the candidates, offices, issues, or measures on the ballot and regardless of the date on which ballots are mailed or returned.
SB 6084 is a narrow fix that clarifies same-day protections but does not address multi-state voting across staggered election dates or the underlying challenges posed by mobile populations and universal mail ballots.
However, the Democrats’ (aka “The Anyone From Anywhere Can Vote Party”) new law also codifies the appellate court’s ruling allowing dual voting by the same voter in multiple jurisdictions/states as long as the election is not held on “the same day.”
The negative collateral impacts and ramifications are obvious: voters could receive ballots in several states and vote in all of them at any time (as long as the election dates differ), with no consequences.
SB 6084 may have good intentions to fix a bad court decision (which is why Republicans voted for it), but it is a poorly written piece of legislation that facilitates voter fraud and violates the principle that an individual may only have one voting domicile.
LET’S BE CLEAR - BECAUSE OF DEMOCRATS - IN 2026, DOUBLE VOTING IS NOW LEGAL IN WA STATE: SB 6084 codified that it is only illegal to vote in different states in elections that fall on the same date.
Now, after Padrta and SB 6084 are in effect, it will be interesting to see whether OR, CO, and other states also allow dual voters (with multiple simultaneous domiciles) when elections are held on different dates.
Many counties in WA State and other states hold 3, 4, 5, or even 6 elections per year, each on a different date. About 45 States hold their respective primary election on different dates - only WA, MI, KS, MO, and VA hold their Aug 4, 2026 primary election on the same dates…
Different election-date scenarios across states are harder to police and may require interstate data sharing.
The Ellis case highlights both the intent and limitations of SB 6084. While the law closes the specific loophole exposed in Padrta for same-day elections, it leaves open questions about staggered election dates across states throughout the year. With Washington and Colorado both relying heavily on mail-in ballots, SB 6084 falls short of fully enforcing the single-domicile voting principle.
And of course, loose mail-in voting laws and well-known gaps in voter roll maintenance facilitate all of this in the first place. Mail-in voting (pioneered early in both OR and WA) makes it easier to participate across states if registrations aren’t promptly updated and rigorously maintained.
This is a straightforward instance of double voting after a move, where Ellis kept her old registration active and voted in both states. It was detected through routine interstate cross-checks, which election officials now perform more frequently. But catching it after ballots have been counted and results certified is little solace to candidates and the electorate.
The case highlights ongoing difficulties in updating voter registrations across state lines, and it raises legitimate questions about one-person, one-vote and the principle of a single voting domicile.
The case could set a precedent for how aggressively Washington pursues and litigates interstate double voting under its clarified statute; interstate double voting is a Class C felony. Let’s hope that double-voting cases, like Ellis's (same-day 2024 ballots), will be prosecuted under the clarified law.
Bill Bruch
Bill Bruch is the WA State GOP Election Integrity Committee Chairman (6th year), WAGOP Executive Board Member (6th year), Skagit County GOP Chairman (10th year), Citizen Journalist, Olympic Conference 2021 Activist of the Year Award Winner, Business Owner, 2020 WA State House Representative Candidate, Former Council Member, and WA State 2016 and 2024 RNC National Convention Delegate
How many people have seasonal homes, or rental homes in different states across the US? Double voting is a felony and SB 6084 does NOTHING to address the problem, no matter how much anyone may claim it does. And that goes for the Republicans who went along with this Bill.