Chapter 479
2007 -- S 0765 SUBSTITUTE A
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: Senators Raptakis, Paiva-Weed, Gallo, Sheehan, and C Levesque
Date
Introduced: February 15, 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. -- Declaration of candidacy - Delegates.
--
During the period between January 2 and
January 12, both dates inclusive (Saturdays, Sundays,
and holidays excluded), 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 the 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. -- Preparation of nomination
papers -
Delegates. -- 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 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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LC01767/SUB A
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