2019 -- H 5925

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LC002206

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- SECRETARY OF STATE

     Introduced By: Representatives Speakman, Cassar, Barros, Donovan, and McEntee

     Date Introduced: March 28, 2019

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     (Secretary of State)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 17-6-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-6 entitled "Secretary of

State" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     17-6-5. Registration lists available to political parties and candidates. Registration

lists available.

     (a) Upon application in writing, the secretary of state shall, upon request, furnish prepaid

at a reasonable price to be established annually by the secretary and at a reasonable time, to the

state chairperson of each political party and to each person proposing to be a duly qualified

candidate for state or congressional office and to no one else except as provided in this chapter,

lists of registered voters as they appear in the central voter registry of each city or town or of each

senatorial or representative district, or of each congressional district except as such lists are

hereinafter specifically modified.

     (b) These lists, so furnished, shall be used by the chairpersons for political purposes, or

by the candidates only in the furtherance of candidacy for political office in the ensuing primary

and/or general election and for no other purpose. The information available for each registrant

shall consist only of the name, designation of party affiliation, unique voter identifier, street

address, city or town, birth year, congressional district, senatorial district, representative district,

ward, and/or precinct and nothing else.

     (c) The price for these lists shall include update subscriptions as available to the date of

the election for which the lists have been requested. These updates shall reflect changes to the

registry records, including all new and deleted voters as received by the secretary of state.

     (d) The secretary of state shall make the list of registered voters available for public view

in an accessible location during regular business hours.

     SECTION 2. Sections 17-6-6 and 17-6-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-6 entitled

"Secretary of State" are hereby repealed.

     17-6-6. Oath required as to use of lists.

     Every person receiving the registry lists shall take and subscribe to the following oath:

     "I understand that the lists requested by me are the property of the state of Rhode Island

and (I affirm that I am the state chairperson of the ________ party); (I proposed to be a duly

qualified candidate in the next following primary and/or election); and that I am a person

authorized by § 17-6-5 to receive a copy of the registry lists described; and I further affirm that

the lists will be used only for the purposes prescribed and for no other use and that I will not

permit the use of or copying of the lists by unauthorized persons.

     _________________________

     Signature of purchaser

     Subscribed and sworn to before me at ________, this ________ day of ________,

20________.

     _________________________

     Notary public"

     17-6-7. Penalty for violating §§ 17-6-5 and 17-6-6.

     Every person who violates the provisions of §§ 17-6-5 and 17-6-6 shall be guilty of a

misdemeanor.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- SECRETARY OF STATE

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     This act would provide that lists of registered voters be made available to the general

public by the secretary of state, and would repeal the requirement that the request be made under

oath and the misdemeanor penalty for violation of the sections relative to lists of registered

voters.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC002206

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