Chapter 390

2007 -- H 6229 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED

Enacted 07/06/07

A N A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- PRIMARIES FOR ELECTION OF DELEGATES TO NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND FOR PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE

Introduced By: Representatives Lewiss, Pacheco, and Gallison

Date Introduced: March 29, 2007

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 17-12.1-3, 17-12.1-4, 17-12.1-5 and 17-12.1-7 of the General

Laws in Chapter 17-12.1 entitled "Primaries for Election of Delegates to National Conventions

and for Presidential Preference" are hereby amended to read as follows:

17-12.1-3. Declaration of candidacy. -- During the period between January 2 and

January 12, both dates inclusive (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excluded), the fifty-fifth (55th)

through and including the fifty-seventh (57th) day preceding a primary for election of delegates to

a national convention, each voter desiring to be a delegate at the forthcoming convention shall, on

the form that shall be provided by the secretary of state, sign his or her name as it appears on the

voting list and file, not later than four (4:00) p.m. of the date of filing with the secretary of state, a

declaration of candidacy which shall include the following information:

      (1) His or her name and address as they appear on the voting list, party designation,

place and date of birth, and length of residence in the state and in the town or city where he or she

resides.

      (2) A statement that, if elected, he or she would comply with all party rules of the

national committee of the party designated in subdivision (1) of this section relating to delegates

to national conventions and conducting of national conventions.

(3) If any candidate for delegate does not thereafter wish his or her name to appear on the

ballot, the candidate shall, at least thirty-three (33) days prior to the date for the primary, file an

affidavit with the secretary of state stating his or her name may not be placed on the ballot and the

secretary of state shall not place that candidate's name on the ballot.

17-12.1-4. Presidential candidates. -- (a) Any person seeking the endorsement of a

national political party for which a primary is being held shall, between November 15 and

November 30, by four o'clock (4:00) p.m. (Saturdays, Sundays and holidays excluded), in the

year prior to the year in which during the eighty-eighth (88th) through and including the ninetieth

(90th) day preceding the presidential preference primary is being held, provide written notification

to the secretary of state of his or her intention to run in the presidential preference primary. The

notification shall include the candidate's name and address and a statement affirming their

eligibility, under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to serve, if elected, in the office

of President of the United States.

      (b) (1) Upon receipt of the notification referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the

secretary of state shall, within three (3) days (Saturdays, Sundays and holidays excluded), by four

o'clock (4:00) p.m. on the next business day, prepare petition papers for candidates who are

eligible to serve in the office of President of the United States, clearly marked with the

candidate's name, party designation, and the office the candidate seeks.

      (2) The petition papers of a candidate for president shall be signed, in the aggregate, by

at least one thousand (1,000) eligible voters and shall be submitted on or before four o'clock

(4:00) p.m. in the afternoon of the seventy-fourth (74th) sixty-ninth (69th) day before the

presidential preference primary to the local board of the city or town where the signers appear to

be voters, and the petition papers shall be checked, processed, and certified to the secretary of

state by the local boards before four o'clock (4:00) p.m. in the afternoon of the sixty-eighth (68th)

fifty-fourth (54th) day before the presidential preference primary. When nomination papers have

been duly certified by the appropriate local boards of canvassers, they shall be conclusively

presumed to be valid, unless written objections to them are made as to the eligibility of the

candidate or the sufficiency of the nomination papers or the signatures on them. All objections

shall be filed with the state board of elections by four o'clock (4:00) p.m. on the next business day

after the last day fixed for local boards to file nomination papers with the secretary of state.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the secretary of state from disqualifying a

candidate based on the determination of the secretary of state that the nomination papers or the

signatures on them are invalid or insufficient.

(c) The decision of the state board shall be rendered not later than four o'clock (4:00)

p.m. on the forty-sixth (46th) day before the presidential preference primary and shall immediately

be certified by the state board to the secretary of state.

(c) (d) If any candidate whose name has been announced as a presidential nominee does

not thereafter wish his or her name to appear on the ballot, the candidate shall, at least thirty (30)

forty-three (43) days prior to the date for the primary, file an affidavit with the secretary of state

stating his or her name may not be placed on the ballot and the secretary of state shall not place

that candidate's name on the ballot. Names of delegates committed to the withdrawn candidate,

who are otherwise qualified, shall appear on the ballot as uncommitted.

17-12.1-5. Preparation of nomination papers. -- Upon receipt of the declaration

referred to in section 17-12.1-3, the secretary of state shall prepare nomination papers for each

candidate who has qualified, clearly marked with the candidate's name and the office the

candidate seeks, and shall, within ten (10) days after the final date for filing declarations of

candidacy by four o'clock (4:00) p.m., on the next business day after the receipt of the

declaration, deliver the nomination papers to the proper candidate or to those persons that the

candidate, in writing, designates to receive them.

17-12.1-7. Checking and certification of nomination papers. – (a) Each nomination

paper of a candidate for delegate shall be submitted on or before four o'clock (4:00) p.m. in the

afternoon of the thirty-fifth (35th) forty-sixth (46th) day before the presidential preference primary

to the local board of the city or town where the signers appear to be voters, and the nomination

papers shall be checked, processed, and certified to the secretary of state by the local boards

before four o'clock (4:00) p.m. in the afternoon of the thirtieth (30th) fortieth (40th) day before the

presidential preference primary. In addition, each candidate for delegate to a national convention

may, on or before four o'clock (4:00) p.m. in the afternoon of the thirtieth (30th) thirty-third

(33rd) day before the presidential primary, submit to the secretary of state documentation from a

candidate, as set forth in section 17-12.1-4, that he or she has the approval of the candidate for

presidential nominee or approval from the steering/screening committee to name the candidates'

delegates to be identified with him or her.

(b) When nomination papers have been duly certified by the appropriate local boards of

canvassers, they shall be conclusively presumed to be valid, unless written objections to them are

made as to the eligibility of the candidate or the sufficiency of the nomination papers or the

signatures on them. All objections shall be filed with the state board of elections by four o'clock

(4:00) p.m. on the next business day after the last day fixed for local boards to file nomination

papers with the secretary of state. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the

secretary of state from disqualifying a candidate based on the determination of the secretary of

state that the nomination papers or the signatures on them are invalid or insufficient.

(c) The decision of the state board shall be rendered not later than four o'clock (4:00)

p.m. on the thirty-third (33rd) day before the presidential preference primary and shall

immediately be certified by the state board to the secretary of state.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC02782/2

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