Seattle Landlords Must Give Voter-registration Information

SEATTLE (AP) — Property owners in Seattle will soon be required to provide new tenants with voter-registration information.

The Seattle Times reports the Seattle City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve Councilmember Kshama Sawant's proposal. Council members Mike O'Brien, M. Lorena González and Tim Burgess were absent.

Owners of property already are required to give tenants an information packet on housing laws, prepared by the city's Department of Construction and Inspections.

A council spokesman says adding voter-registration information to the packet will take effect 30 days after Mayor Ed Murray signs it.

The ordinance says studies have shown that people on the move vote at lower rates.

A Seattle Times analysis of Census Bureau data released last month shows Seattle is the fastest-growing big city in the country.