Chapter 119
2005 -- S 0881 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/01/05
A N A C T
RELATING
TO ELECTIONS -- GENERAL PROVISIONS
Introduced
By: Senators Pichardo, Connors, Gallo, Issa, and Goodwin
Date
Introduced: March 02, 2005
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Section
17-1-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-1 entitled "General
Provisions" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
17-1-7.
Uniform deadlines. -- Notwithstanding any other time specified for the
filing of
any paper or the doing of any act pursuant to
this title, a uniform deadline of 4:00 p.m. is
established; provided, that applications for
emergency mail ballots must be received by 12:00
noon 4:00 p.m. on the day prior to an election
or primary. If any filing deadline falls on a
Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the deadline shall
be construed to fall on the next subsequent
business day; provided, that this does not apply
to registration to vote thirty (30) days prior to an
election or primary.
SECTION 2. Section
17-20-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-20 entitled "Mail
Ballots" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
17-20-10.
Certification of applications -- Issuance of ballots -- Marking of lists --
Mailing address. -- (a) Upon receipt of the
application, the local board shall immediately
examine it and determine whether it complies
with each of the requirements set forth by this
chapter and compare the signature on the ballot
application with the signature contained on the
original registration card, except as may be
otherwise provided by law, to satisfy itself that the
applicant is a qualified voter. Upon determining
that it does meet each requirement of this chapter
and that the signature appears to be the same,
the local board shall mark the application
"accepted" and record in the space
provided on the ballot application the senatorial,
representative, and voting district in which the
applicant should vote.
(b) The local
board shall also record the city or town code and district information in the
mailing label section of the mail ballot
application. The local board shall also print or type the
name of the elector and the complete mailing
address in that section. If the local board does not
accept the application, the local board shall
return the application to the elector, together with a
form prescribed by the secretary of state,
specifying the reason or reasons for the return of the
application.
(c) Not later
than 4:00 p.m. on the eighteenth (18th) day before the day of any election
referred to in this chapter or within seven (7)
days of receipt by the local board, whichever occurs
first, the local board shall certify the
applications and shall cause their delivery together with
seven (7) certified listings thereof, one of
which shall be an original and six (6) of which shall be
copies, in sealed packages to the secretary of
state. The secretary of state shall give a dated
receipt acknowledging delivery and stating the number
of applications received. to the secretary
of state through the CVRS system as this
procedure is prescribed by the secretary of state. Upon
the certification of a mail ballot application
to the secretary of state, the local board shall make a
copy of the certification, and enter on the voting
list the fact that a mail ballot application for the
voter has been certified to the secretary of
state.
(d) (1) Upon receipt
by the secretary of state of the applications the ballots becoming
available, the secretary of state shall immediately,
upon the ballots becoming available, issue and
mail, by first class mail, postage prepaid, a
mail ballot to each eligible voter who has been
certified. With respect to voters who have applied for these
mail ballots under the provisions of
section 17-20-2(3), the secretary of state shall
include with the mail ballots a stamped return
envelope addressed: "Board of Elections, 50
Branch Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island 02904-
2790".
(2) The secretary
of state shall include on the mail ballot envelope a numerical or
alphabetical code designating the city or town
where the voter resides. The secretary of state shall
immediately thereafter indicate on the certified
lists the names to which voter's record that the
secretary of state has sent mail ballots and
shall return one of the lists to the local board where it
came from and shall deliver another of the lists
together with the certified applications to the state
board. The state board shall keep all the
applications in safe custody together with the voters'
ballots, both of which shall be sealed after the
completion of the count and canvass of the ballots.
provided, that this mark shall serve solely to
indicate that a mail ballot has been issued and shall
not be construed as voting in the election.
(e) Prior to each
election, the secretary of state shall also furnish to the chairperson of the
state committee of each political party a list
of the names and residence addresses of all persons
to whom mail ballots have been issued. The
secretary of state shall also furnish to a candidate for
political office upon request a list of the
names and residence addresses of all persons to whom
mail ballots have been issued within his or her
district.
(f) Upon
return to it of the certified list with the names to which the secretary of
state has
sent mail ballots, the local board shall
promptly mark the voting record of each qualified voter
who has been issued a mail ballot with a mark in
the place provided on the voting list for the
election in question; provided, that this mark
shall serve solely to indicate that a mail ballot has
been issued and shall not be construed as voting
in the election.
(g) If a ballot
is returned to the secretary of state by the postal service as undeliverable,
the secretary of state shall consult with the
appropriate local board to determine the accuracy of
the mailing address, and the secretary of state
shall be required to remail the ballot to the voter
using the corrected address provided by the
local board. If the local board is unable to provide a
different address than that to which the ballot
was originally mailed, the ballot shall be reissued
by the secretary of state to the board of canvassers
in the city or town where the voter resides
utilizing the numerical or alphabetical code
established in subsection (d) of this section. The
board shall then attempt to notify the voter at
his or her place of residence that the ballot has been
returned as undeliverable. The ballot must be
voted and witnessed in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter.
(h) The
acceptance of a mail ballot application by the board of canvassers and the
issuance of a mail ballot by the secretary of state
shall not create any presumption as to the
accuracy of the information provided by the
applicant or as to the applicant's compliance with the
provisions of this chapter. Any inaccuracy in
the provided information or irregularity in the
application may be raised as a challenge to the
ballot before the board of elections at the time of
certification. If the challenge raised at that
time is meritorious, the ballot shall be voided.
(i) Upon the
request of any candidate for public office and upon a showing of good cause
or upon its own motion, the board of elections
shall make inquiry into the legitimacy of the
certifications issued pursuant to section
17-20-2.2(3) by any physician or practitioner who issues
more than fifty (50) certifications in any one
election or by any physician or practitioner who the
board has reason to believe has made a false
certification. The inquiry shall include a
determination as to whether the physician or
practitioner conducted an examination of the
electors he or she certified as ill or disabled
to determine whether it would be an undue hardship
on them to go to the polls. The provisions of
chapter 37.3 of title 5 shall not apply to any
proceeding before the state board of elections
conducted pursuant to this title. The boards of
canvassers shall immediately notify the board of
elections of any physician who has issued more
than twenty-five (25) certifications in their
city or town in the same election.
(j) Within two
(2) business days of receipt by the local board, the board shall certify
emergency mail ballot applications where the
ballot is to be mailed to the elector by the office of
the secretary of state and shall cause the
delivery of the emergency mail ballot applications,
together with seven (7) certified listings
thereof, one of which shall be an original and six (6) of
which shall be copies, and certification
sheet in sealed packages to the secretary of state. state
board of elections. With respect to
emergency ballots being cast at the local board of canvassers,
the local board shall immediately cause the
delivery of the original emergency mail ballot
application together with an original certified
listing thereof to the state board of elections, and
six (6) copies of the application and certified
listing thereof to the office of the secretary of state.
SECTION 3.
Sections 17-20-13 and 17-20-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-20
entitled "Mail Ballots" are hereby
amended to read as follows:
17-20-13.
Form of application. -- The application to be subscribed by the voters
before
receiving a mail ballot shall, in addition to
those directions that may be printed, stamped, or
written on it by authority of the secretary of
state, be in substantially the following form:
STATE OF RHODE
ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS
APPLICATION OF
VOTER FOR BALLOT FOR ELECTION
ON________
(COMPLETE
HIGHLIGHTED SECTIONS)
NOTE - THIS
APPLICATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE BOARD OF
CANVASSERS OF YOUR CITY OR TOWN NOT LATER THAN
4:00 P.M
ON________
BOX A (PRINT OR
TYPE)
NAME__________________________________________________________________
________
VOTING
ADDRESS________________________________________________________________
CITY/TOWN_________________________________ STATE
RI ZIP CODE____________
DATE OF
BIRTH_______________________________________ PHONE
#__________________
BOX B (PRINT OR
TYPE)
NAME OF
INSTITUTION (IF
APPLICABLE)___________________________________________
ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________________
CITY/TOWN________ STATE________ ZIP CODE________
FACSIMILE
NUMBER (if applicable)
_________________________________________________________________________
I CERTIFY THAT I
AM ELIGIBLE FOR A MAIL BALLOT ON
THE FOLLOWING
BASIS; (CHECK ONE ONLY)
( ) 1. I will be absent
from the state on the date of the election during the entire period of
time when the polls are to be open. Provide an
out-of-state mailing address in BOX B above or
the ballot will be mailed to the local board of
canvassers.
( ) 2. I will be
absent from the city or town of my voting residence during the entire
period of time when the polls are to be open
because of my status as a student, or spouse of a
student, at an institution of higher learning
within the state of Rhode Island. Complete BOX B
above with your entire address or the ballot
will be mailed to the address in BOX A. Indicate
name of institution________
( ) 3. I am
incapacitated to such an extent that it would be an undue hardship to vote at
the polls because of illness, mental or physical
disability, blindness or a serious impairment of
mobility. Ballot will be mailed to address in
BOX A.
( ) 4. I belong to
a religion whose tenets forbid secular activity, including voting, on the
day of election. Ballot will be mailed to
address in BOX A.
( ) 5. I am
confined in a hospital, convalescent home, nursing home, rest home, or similar
institution. Complete BOX B above.
( ) 6. I am
detained while awaiting trial or imprisoned for a cause other than final
conviction of a felony. Complete BOX B above.
( ) 7. I am
employed or in service intimately connected with military operations or
because I am a spouse or dependent of such
person. Complete BOX B above or the ballot will be
mailed to the local board of canvassers.
( ) 8. I am
employed by the (a)( ) the state board of elections, (b)( )
elections division of
the secretary of state, (c)( ) a member
of the staff of a local canvassing authority, or (d)( ) a poll
worker assigned to work election day outside of
their voting district. I declare that all of the
information I have provided on this form is true
and correct to the best of my knowledge. I further
state that I am not a qualified voter of any
other city or town or state and have not claimed and do
not intend to claim the right to vote in any
other city or town or state. If unable to sign name
because of physical incapacity or otherwise,
applicant shall make his or her mark "X".
SIGNATURE IN FULL________
This application must
either be sworn to before a notary public OR before two (2)
witnesses who must sign their names and affix
their addresses. No witness or notary is necessary
if checking category No.
7.
WITNESSES:
Name_________________________________________________________________________
_
Address_______________________________________________________________________
Name_________________________________________________________________________
_
Address_______________________________________________________________________
OR
NOTARY: (If
executed outside of RI by a notary public, attest in manner authorized by
law of places where taken.)
Sworn to (or
affirmed) before me, this________ day of______________, 20____ .
Notary Public_________________________________________________________________
My Commission Expires: __________________
MAIL TO: BOARD
OF CANVASSERS,
Address_______________________________________________________________________
City/Town__________________________________
State________ Zip Code____________ TO
BE COMPLETED BY THE LOCAL BOARD OF CANVASSERS
CITY/TOWN
CODE_______________________________________________________________
_ CONG
DIST_____________________________________________________________________
SEN
DIST______________________________________________________________________
REP
DIST______________________________________________________________________
VOTE
DIST_____________________________________________________________________
WARD
#_______________________________________________________________________
#_______________________________________________________________________
_
ACCEPTED____________________________________________________________________
__
DATE_________________________________________________________________________
_ APPLICANT SHOULD NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE - TO
BE FILLED IN BY
LOCAL BOARD
CITY/TOWN
CODE________________________________________________________________
CONG
DIST_____________________________________________________________________
SEN
DIST______________________________________________________________________
REP
DIST______________________________________________________________________
VOTE
DIST_____________________________________________________________________
WARD
#________________________________________________________________________
DIST
#________________________________________________________________________
NAME________________________________________________________________________
__
STREET
ADDRESS________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
City/Town_______________________________
State________ (Zip Code)____________
17-20-26.
Opening and counting of ballots. -- (a) (1) Beginning prior to and
continuing
on election day the state board, upon receipt of
mail ballots, shall keep the ballots in a safe and
secure place which shall be separate and apart
from the general public area, and hold sessions, at
which in each instance it shall:
(i) Open the
outer envelope and attach the matching ballot application to the inner
certifying envelope;
(ii) Write or
fill in the name or number of the city or town, and senatorial and
representative and/or voting district, as the
case may be, on the inner certifying envelope, as they
appear on the ballot application;
(iii) Number
consecutively for identification the inner certifying envelopes and matching
ballot applications;
(iv) Beginning five
(5) fourteen (14) days prior to and continuing on election day,
proceed to certify the mail ballots.
(2) Notice of
these sessions shall be given to the public by announcements in newspapers
of general circulation published at least
twenty-four (24) hours before the commencing of any
session. All candidates for state and federal
office, as well as all state party chairpersons, shall be
given notice by telephone or otherwise of the
day on which ballots effecting that candidate's
district will be certified; provided, that
failure to effect the notice shall in no way invalidate the
ballots.
(b) This
processing shall be done within a railed space in the room in which it takes
place, and the board shall admit within the
railed space, in accordance with those rules that the
board shall adopt, to witness the processing and
certification of the ballots, the interested voter or
the voter's representative, the candidates, or
at least one representative of each candidate for
whom votes are at the time being processed, and
an equal number of representatives of each
political party. These representatives shall be
authorized in writing by the voter, the candidate, or
the chairperson of the state committee of the
political party, respectively, as the case may be. The
board shall also, in accordance with these
rules, admit representatives of the press and
newscasting agencies and any other persons that
it deems proper.
(c) At these
sessions, and before certifying any ballot, the state board shall:
(1) Determine the
city or town, and senatorial, representative, and voting district, in
which the voter cast his or her ballot and
classify accordingly; and
(2) Compare the
name, residence, and signature of the voter with the name, residence,
and signature on the ballot application for mail
ballots and satisfy itself that both signatures are
identical.
(d) If during the
processing and certification of mail ballots no objection has been raised
against the certification of a ballot, the outer
envelope shall be discarded. However, if an
objection has been raised that entails further
consideration and determination by the board, the
outer envelope shall remain attached to the
certifying inner envelope for identification purposes.
(e) The board shall
establish guidelines setting forth the grounds for challenging the
certification of mail ballots. These guidelines
shall recognize that if a ballot can be reasonably
identified to be that of the voter it purports
to be, and if it can reasonably be determined that the
voter was eligible to vote by mail ballot and if
the requirements of section 17-20-2.1 were
complied with, it should not be subject to
frivolous or technical challenge. The burden of proof in
challenging a mail ballot as not obtained and/or
cast in conformance with this chapter is on the
person challenging the ballot. Once the
irregularity is shown, the burden of proof shall shift to the
person defending the ballot to demonstrate that
it is the ballot of the voter it purports to be, that
the voter was eligible to vote by mail ballot,
and that all of the applicable requirements of section
17-20-2.1 were complied with. The guidelines
shall be adopted at a public meeting of the board
and shall be made available prior to the start
of the certification process for mail ballots.
(f) After
processing and certification of the mail ballots, they shall be separated in
packages in accordance with their respective
cities and towns, and senatorial, representative, and
voting districts, in the presence of the board
and all other interested parties. Thereupon, in each
instance the board shall open the enclosing
envelope, and without looking at the votes cast on the
enclosed ballot, shall remove the ballot from
the envelope. After the last of the ballots has been
removed, the state board shall immediately
proceed to count the ballots through the use of a
central count optical scan unit with the same
effect as if the ballots had been cast by the electors
in open town or district meetings.
(g) When a local
election is held at a time other than in conjunction with a statewide
election, the state board, after the processing
and certification of the mail ballots cast in the local
election, shall package the local ballots to be
promptly delivered in sealed packages, bearing upon
the seals the signatures of the members of the
board, to the appropriate local board which shall a
thereupon proceed to count the ballots in the
same manner and with the same effect as state mail
ballots are counted by the state board.
SECTION
4. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02499/SUB
A
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