Chapter
345
2005 -- S 0719 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/19/05
A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
Introduced By: Senators Pichardo, Doyle, Gallo, Connors, and Felag
Date Introduced: February 17, 2005
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 17-9.1-7 and 17-9.1-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-9.1
entitled
"Registration of Voters" are hereby amended to read as follows:
17-9.1-7.
Registration at the division of motor vehicles. -- (a) Every person
applying at
the
division of motor vehicles for a driver's license or a renewal of the license,
or personal
identification
document issued by the division of motor vehicles, and who is or may be by the
next general
election qualified to vote, shall be afforded the opportunity to register to
vote, or if
previously
registered, to change their address for voting purposes.
(b) The application to register to vote must be offered simultaneously with the
application
for the driver's license or renewal of it or personal identification document.
Division
of motor
vehicles employees must provide to applicants for driver's licenses, license
renewal, or
personal
identification documents the same level of assistance and instruction with
respect to the
application
to register to vote as is provided with respect to the application for driver's
licenses,
renewal
of the license, or personal identification documents; provided, that separate
signatures
shall be
required on the application for driver's license, renewal of the license, or
personal
identification
document and the application to register to vote. The applicant may decline to
register
to vote by failing to sign the voter registration form. In order to protect the
privacy of
those
who do not wish to register to vote for any reason, the failure of an applicant
for a driver's
license
or renewal of it or a personal identification document to sign the voter
registration form
may not
be used for any purposes other than to determine the person's voter
registration status.
(c) (1) The voter registration application shall contain the registrant's name,
residence
address,
mailing address if different from residence address, date of birth, and
registrant's
signature
and date of affixation of signature, and may include any other information,
certifications,
and declarations, including those made under the penalty of perjury, that may
be
required
by the state board in order to administer a single and unified system of voter
registration
in
accordance with applicable state and federal laws which shall enable duly
registered voters to
vote in
all elections in their respective voting districts including, elections for
federal officers.
The
voter registration application must also include, in print identical to that
used in the
attestation
portion of the form, the following:
(i) The penalties provided by law for submitting a false voter registration;
(ii) A statement that, if the applicant declines to register to vote, his or
her decision will
remain
confidential and be used only for voter registration purposes; and
(iii) A statement that, if the applicant does register to vote, information
regarding the
office
or branch of the division of motor vehicles to which the application was
submitted will
remain
confidential, to be used only for voter registration purposes.
(2) It shall be the responsibility of the division of motor vehicles to print
and to have
available
at all time a sufficient number of voter registration forms in order to carry
out the
provisions
of this section.
(d) The completed voter registration application shall be transmitted by the
division of
motor
vehicles to the state board or any local board central voter
registration system mandated
pursuant
to section 17-6-1.2 not later than ten
(10) days the next business day after the date of
acceptance
by the division of motor vehicles. However, if the acceptance occurs on the
last day to
register
to vote or within five (5) days preceding that date, the application shall be
transmitted to
the
state board or any local board not later than five (5) days after the date of
acceptance.
Transmission
shall be made by electronic means as prescribed by the secretary of state, and
shall
be in
an electronic form compatible with the voter registration system maintained by
the secretary
of
state. For each registration electronically transmitted, a hard copy will be
provided to the
appropriate
local board of canvassers.
(e) Any person who has fully and correctly completed an application to register
to vote at
the
division of motor vehicles is presumed to be registered as of the date of the
acceptance of the
registration
by the division of motor vehicles, subject to verification of the registration
by the
state
board or any local board as provided
in section 17-9.1-25.
(f) The state board of elections shall have the authority to adopt regulations
to implement
and
administer the provisions of this section, including all registrations taken at
the division of
motor
vehicles.
17-9.1-8.
Registration at designated agencies. -- (a) Every person who is or may
be by
the next
general election qualified to vote may register to vote when applying for
services or
assistance
at any of the following offices:
(1) Any office in the state that provides public assistance;
(2) At or through any offices in the state that provide state funded programs
primarily
engaged
in providing services to persons with disabilities;
(3) At armed forces recruitment offices, subject to procedures developed by the
state
board in
cooperation with the United States Department of Defense; and
(4) At any other agencies within the state that shall be determined by the
state board.
(b) Voter registration agencies designated by the state board may include, but
are not
limited
to:
(1) State or local government offices such as public libraries, public schools,
offices of
city and
towns clerks (including marriage license bureaus), fishing and hunting license
bureaus,
government
revenue offices, unemployment compensation offices, and offices not described
in
subdivision
(a)(2) of this section that provide services to persons with disabilities; and
(2) Federal and nongovernmental offices, with the agreement of those offices.
(c) (1) Persons must be provided this opportunity to register to vote not only
at the time
of their
original application for services, but also when filing any recertification,
renewal, or for a
change
of address relating to those services. Agencies providing voter registration
assistance must
offer
the same degree of assistance to individuals in completing a voter registration
form as they
offer to
individuals in completing the agency's own forms, unless the applicant refuses
the
assistance.
(2) Any person who provides voter registration assistance services in an agency
is
prohibited
from:
(i) Seeking to influence an applicant's party preference or party registration;
(ii) Displaying any political preference or party allegiance;
(iii) Making any statement or taking any action whose purpose or effect is to
discourage
the
applicant from registering to vote; or
(iv) Making any statement or taking any action whose purpose or effect is to
lead the
applicant
to believe that a decision whether or not to register has any bearing on the
availability
of
services or benefits.
(d) (1) Those who decline to register to vote must do so in writing or by
failing to check
a box on
a form containing the question: "If you are not registered to vote where
you live now,
would
you like to apply to register to vote here today? yes or no".
(2) The declination may be included in the agency application for services or
on a
separate
form provided by the agency, subject to rules and regulations to be adopted by
the state
board.
(3) No information regarding a person's declination to register to vote may be
used for
any
purpose other than voter registration. If an individual does register to vote,
the particular
agency
at which the applicant submits a voter registration application may not be
publicly
disclosed.
(4) The declination form to be used at agencies providing public or publicly
funded
assistance
shall also contain the following statements and information:
(i) "Applying to register or declining to register to vote will not affect
the amount of
assistance
that you will be provided by this agency";
(ii) "If you do not check either box, you will be considered to have
decided not to
register
to vote at this time." (with "yes" and "no" boxes
being provided);
(iii) "If you would like help filling out the voter registration
application form, we will
help
you. The decision whether to seek or accept help is yours. You may fill out the
application
form in
private";
(iv) "If you believe that someone has interfered with your right to
register or to decline to
register
to vote, your right to privacy in deciding whether to register or in applying
to register to
vote, or
your right to choose your own political party or other political preference,
you may file a
complaint
with the State Board of Elections, 50 Branch Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island
02904,
(401) 222-2345, (401) 222-2239 TDD";
(v) A statement that if the applicant declines to register to vote, that his or
her decision
will
remain confidential and be used only for voter registration purposes; and
(vi) A statement that if the applicant does register to vote, information
regarding the
agency
to which the application was submitted will remain confidential, to be used
only for voter
registration
purposes.
(e) (1) The registration form to be provided in these agencies shall be the
mail
registration
form adopted by the state board. Unless the registrant refuses to permit the
agency to
transmit
the form to the state board or local board where the applicant resides, the
agency shall
transmit
the completed registration form to the state board or any local board. However,
if the
registrant
refuses, the registrant may either mail the form to the state board or any
local board or
may
provide for delivery of the form to the state board or any local board either
in person or
through
a third party. It shall be the responsibility of all state or state funded
agencies to have
available
at all times a sufficient number of voter registration forms in order to carry
out the
provisions
of this section.
(2) Unless the applicant refuses to permit the agency to transmit the completed
voter
registration
form to the state board or to a local board, the agency shall be required to
transmit the
registration
form within ten (10) days after acceptance, or if accepted on the last day or
within
five (5)
days before the last day to register for an election, within five (5) days of
acceptance.
(f) Each agency designated by the board to register persons to vote when
applying for
services
or assistance shall report to the state board:
(1) The number of persons applying for services and assistance;
(2) The number of persons who have been registered to vote at that agency;
(3) The number of forms that have been transmitted by the agency to the state
or local
board;
and
(4) The number of persons who have declined to register to vote at that agency.
Reports
to the
state board by each designated agency shall be on a quarterly basis.
(g) Any person who has fully and correctly completed an application to register
to vote
at a
designated agency is presumed to be registered as of the date of the acceptance
of the
registration
by the designated agency, subject to verification of the registration by the
state board
or any
local board as provided in section 17-9.1-25.
(h) If a voter registration agency which is primarily engaged in providing
services to
persons
with disabilities provides those services at the person's home, the agency
shall provide
the
voter registration services authorized by this section at the person's home.
(i) The state board of elections shall have the authority to adopt regulations
to implement
and
administer the provisions of this section, including all registrations taken at
designated
agencies.
(j)
In cases where the findings required by subdivision 17-6-1.2(a)(4) have been
made,
transmission
shall be made by electronic means as prescribed by the secretary of state, and
shall
be in
an electronic form compatible with the voter registration system maintained by
the secretary
of
state.
SECTION 2. This act shall
take effect upon passage.
=======
LC02370/SUB A
=======