Chapter 278
2004 -- S 2856
Enacted 07/02/04
A N A C T
RELATING
TO ELECTIONS -- VOTING DISTRICTS AND OFFICIALS AND PRIMARY ELECTIONS
Introduced
By: Senator J. Michael Lenihan
Date
Introduced: February 11, 2004
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 17-11-3, 17-11-6, 17-11-7, 17-11-7.2, 17-11-8, 17-11-10, 17-11-
11,
17-11-12 and 17-11-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-11 entitled
"Voting Districts and
Officials"
are hereby amended to read as follows:
17-11-3.
Appointment of moderators and clerks in the town of Smithfield. --
Moderators
and clerks of voting districts in the town of Smithfield shall be appointed by
the
Smithfield
town council. at least thirty-five (35) days prior to the date of a
primary or election.
The
moderator and clerk of a polling place shall not be of the same political
party.
17-11-6.
Appointment of district moderators and clerks in default of election. --
Whenever
voting district moderators and clerks, and moderators and clerks of senatorial
or
representative
districts, have not been elected in any city or town, the local board of the
city or
town
shall appoint these officers at least ten (10) thirty-five (35)
days before any election or
district
or town meeting, and the officers shall hold office until the appointment or
election of
their
successors. ;provided, however, that the moderator and clerk shall
not be of the same
political
party.
17-11-7.
District moderators and clerks regularly appointed by board. -- In the
towns
of
Barrington, Bristol, Lincoln, Middletown, Portsmouth, Warren, Westerly, West
Warwick, and
Johnston,
at least ten (10) thirty-five (35) days prior to every election,
there shall be appointed by
the
local board of each town, respectively, a moderator and a clerk for each
polling place, one of
whom
shall be a democrat and one a republican, and not from the same political party,
who shall,
whenever
possible,
be party voters in the district for which they are appointed.
17-11-7.2.
Appointment of moderators and clerks for the town of Narragansett. --
Moderators
and clerks of the voting districts for the town of Narragansett shall be
appointed by
the
Narragansett board of canvassers. at least thirty-five (35) days
prior to every primary or
election.
The moderator and clerk of a polling place shall not be of the same political
party.
17-11-8.
Qualifications of moderators and clerks -- Vacancies. -- The moderators
and
clerks
shall each be able to read the Constitution of the state in the English
language, and to write
their
names. Every person appointed as a moderator or clerk shall immediately be
notified of his
or
her appointment and shall, within five (5) at least three (3)
days of his or her appointment
before
any election at which that person has been appointed to serve, accept or decline the
appointment,
and shall be, at least three (3) days prior to the election, sworn to the
faithful
discharge
of his or her duties by some member of the board making the appointment. In
case any
appointed
person neglects to qualify or is unable or fails to serve, the vacancy shall be
filled by
the
board making the appointment, and the appointee shall be ,whenever possible,
of the same
political
party affiliation as the person failing to qualify, and shall,
before serving, qualify before
some
member of the board.
17-11-10.
Filling of vacancies by town council. -- In case of the death,
resignation, or
permanent
disability of the moderator of any town, or of the moderator or clerk of any
senatorial
or
representative district, except in the cities of Providence, Pawtucket, Central
Falls, Warwick,
Cranston,
Woonsocket, and Newport, or of any voting district in any town, except the
towns of
Barrington,
Middletown, and Warren, not divided into senatorial or representative
districts, the
town
council may fill the vacancy from a the list of party registered
voters submitted by the party
chairperson
under whose party designation the moderator or clerk had been elected. In the
absence
of a submitted list, or, if the person, when elected, was not affiliated
with any party, the
town
council may make its choice from the primary list of the party which
elected the moderator
or
clerk registered
voters.
17-11-11.
Selection of wardens and clerks in cities. -- At least twenty (20)
thirty-five
(35) days before any
election, the local board in each city shall appoint for each polling place
within
the city where an election is to be held a warden and clerk, one of whom
shall be a
republican
and the other of whom shall be a democrat not from the same political party.
The
appointments
shall be made from a list of not less than ten (10) qualified party registered
voters
presented
to the board by the city or town committees of the republican and
democratic parties,
respectively,
the republican election officials to be selected from the republican list, and
the
democratic
election officials from the democratic list, or in case any committee fails to
submit the
list
within the required time, they shall select election officials from the party
voters of the same
political
party as the committee failing to submit the list. The local board may adopt a
plan for
some
or all wardens or clerks to work a half-day at half-pay if the plan is
consistent with the
provisions
of this section and is approved by the state board. political parties at
least forty-five
(45)
days before any election.
17-11-12.
Qualifications of election officials -- Vacancies. -- Election
officials shall
,whenever
possible,
be qualified electors in the city, town, senatorial or representative district,
or
voting
district in which they are appointed to serve, and shall severally be able to
read the
Constitution
of the state in the English language and to write their names. Every person
appointed
as a
warden, clerk, moderator, or supervisor shall, within forty-eight (48)
hours thereafter, be
notified
in writing by the clerk of the local board of the appointment; and the person
appointed
shall,
within ninety-six (96) hours after five (5) days of his or her
appointment, notify the clerk in
writing
of that person's acceptance or declination of the appointment, and any vacancy
occurring
among
these election officials, whether by declination or refusal to serve or by
failure to notify
the
clerk, or by failure from any cause to appear at or remain during the time when
they are
required
to perform their duties, shall be immediately filled by the local board, or by
its presiding
officer
if the board is not in session, from the lists provided for in section 17-11-10,
by the
substitution
of a person of the same political party as was the election official first
appointed.
Each
of these election officials shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his or
her duties before
entering
upon the performance of his duties.
17-11-13.
Appointment and compensation of supervisors. -- (a) The local board of
each
city and town, at least twenty (20) thirty-five (35) days before
each election, shall appoint
two
(2) pairs of supervisors for each polling place, each pair of which shall not
be comprised one
democrat
and one republican
of two (2) persons from the same political party. Supervisors shall,
if
possible, be
appointed from a list of qualified party eligible voters
presented and employed in
the
same manner as provided by this chapter for the appointment of wardens and
clerks.
(b) The local board may, in its discretion, or upon the direction and
upon
recommendation of the state board shall,
in like manner, appoint one or more additional
bipartisan
pairs of
supervisors for any polling place whenever and so long as the appointment is,
in
the judgment of either board, necessary to facilitate the conduct of an
election.
(c) The supervisors of elections in all cities and towns shall severally
receive
compensation
for their services at the minimum rate of sixty dollars ($60) per day.
(d) The local board may adopt a plan for some or all supervisors to work a
half-day at
half-pay
if the plan is consistent with the provisions of this section and is approved
by the state
board.
(e)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) above, the local board of a
city or
town
may, upon written approval of the board of elections, reduce the number of
supervisors at
polling
places within their jurisdiction.
SECTION
2. Sections 17-15-13, 17-15-14 and 17-15-16 of the General Laws in Chapter
17-15
entitled "Primary Elections" are hereby amended to read as follows:
17-15-13.
Voting places -- Primary officials -- Party officials -- Appointment. --
(a)
From lists
submitted to it by the chairperson of the state committees of each party, the
board shall
appoint
and issue commissions to a sufficient number of qualified electors of this
state to be
primary
inspectors so that one inspector may be assigned for each party to each primary
polling
place
to work with the other primary officials of his or her party. The local board
shall, at least
twenty
(20) fifty
(50) days previous prior to the primary, select the place or
places designated by
it for
holding the primary election provided for by this chapter. The local board
shall, at least
seven
(7) thirty-five
(35) days before any primary election, appoint for each polling place
within
its
city or town a primary warden or moderator and a primary clerk in the following
manner:
(1) If there are primary contests in both major political parties, the warden
and clerk
shall
be appointed as provided in section 17-11-11;
(2) If there is a primary contest in only one of the major political parties,
the warden and
the
clerk shall be selected from a list submitted by the local committee of the
party in which the
contest
exists.
(b) The local board shall also appoint at least thirty-five days (35) before
any primary
election, from lists submitted
at least ten (10) forty-five (45) days prior to the date set for
the
holding
of the primaries, four (4) supervisors, in the following manner: (1) if there
are primary
contests
in both major political parties, one supervisor shall be appointed for each
party in the
manner
provided in section 17-11-11 and two (2) supervisors, one for each party, shall
be
appointed
from lists submitted by a majority of the respective party candidates, other
than those
endorsed
by the party committee; (2) if there is no primary contest in one of the major
political
parties,
two (2) supervisors shall be appointed from a list submitted by the local
committee in
which
the contest exists, and two (2) supervisors shall be appointed from a list or
lists submitted
by a
majority of the party candidates, other than those endorsed by the party
committee. The local
board
may appoint any additional pairs of supervisors that it may deem necessary in
the same
manner
provided in this subsection and shall do so when directed by the state board.
(c) The local board shall also appoint for each party one watcher, two (2)
checkers, and
the
number of runners, not to exceed three (3), that the appropriate party
chairperson may deem
necessary,
which watcher, checkers, and runners shall be designated as party officials.
These
party
officials shall be appointed from lists of qualified electors who are qualified
to vote at the
respective
party primaries which lists shall be furnished as provided in subsection (b) of
this
section
to the local board at least ten (10) days prior to the date set for the holding
of the primary.
If
the party candidates or a majority of them, other than those endorsed by the
party committee,
notify
the local board in writing of their choices at least ten (10) days prior to the
date set for the
holding
of the primaries, the local board shall likewise appoint one watcher, two (2)
checkers, and
the
number of runners that it shall have appointed at the request of the party
chairperson, to act
for
them collectively. The local board shall give them certificates as party
officials.
17-15-14.
Qualifications of primary officials -- Affidavit. -- (a) Each warden or
moderator
and each primary supervisor appointed under the provisions of sections 17-15-13
and
17-15-16
shall be able to read the Constitution of the state in the English language,
and to write
his
or her name, and shall ,whenever possible, be a party voter of
the senatorial district,
representative
district, or town, ward, or voting district from which he or she is appointed.
(b) No person shall be appointed to serve as a primary official who has been
convicted,
found
guilty, pleaded guilty or nolo contendere, or placed on a deferred or suspended
sentence or
on
probation for any crime which involved moral turpitude or a violation of any of
the election,
caucus,
or primary laws of this or any other state.
(c) No person shall be appointed to serve as a primary official who is an
officer or
employee
of the United States, of this state, or of any city or town of this state, but
no person
shall
be disqualified solely because that person is a notary public or a teacher.
(d) No person who is seeking nomination or election at any primary election
shall act as
a
primary official at that primary.
(e) Every primary official shall make an affidavit before the proper local
board or some
member
of the board to the effect that that official is not disqualified by reason of
the provisions
of
this section.
17-15-16.
Vacancies among primary officials. -- Vacancies occurring among primary
officials
shall be immediately filled by the local boards in the same manner as provided
for
general
elections as qualified by section 17-15-13; provided, that in the event there
are no lists
available,
the local board shall appoint some person or persons to fill the vacancy from
the
primary lists of the
party registered voters.
SECTION
3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02531
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