Chapter 199
2011 -- H 5680 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/02/11
A N A C T
RELATING TO
ELECTIONS - VOTER IDENTIFICATION
Introduced By: Representatives Brien, Fox, JP O`Neill, Trillo, and Costa
Date Introduced: March 03, 2011
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 17-19-24 of the General Laws in Chapter
17-19 entitled "Conduct
of Election and Voting Equipment, and Supplies" is
hereby amended to read as follows:
17-19-24.
Procedure for voting. -- (a) Each
person desiring to vote shall provide proof
of identification as required by section 17-19-24.2 and state his or her name and residence,
including that person's street address, if he or she has any,
to the pair of bi-partisan supervisors,
who shall then announce the name and residence in a loud
and distinct voice, clear and audible.
(b) A bipartisan pair
shall locate the voter's name on the certified voting list for the
voting district. Upon finding the voter's name on the
certified voting list for the district, the voter
shall sign their name on the line next to their printed
name on the certified voter list, and the
bipartisan pair shall initial the certified voter list in the
place provided next to the voter's signature
entered on the certified list of voters. The bipartisan pair
shall also make a proper notation on the
certified voter list that the applicant has voted in the
election. If the bipartisan pair cannot locate
the voter's name on the certified voting list for the
voting district the bipartisan pair shall direct
the voter to the clerk who shall review the certified
list for the city or town and determine if the
voter is registered to vote and in which voting district
they are eligible to vote. The bipartisan pair
of supervisors shall provide the voter with the
appropriate computer ballot and security sleeve.
The warden shall direct the voter to the voting booth
which the voter shall use, and unless the
voter needs instruction or assistance as provided in this
chapter, the voter shall cast his or her
vote, and if he or she desires place the voted computer
ballot in a security sleeve, and shall
proceed to the optical scan precinct count unit and shall
personally place his or her voted ballot
into the designated ballot slot on the unit, and after
doing so, shall leave the enclosure at once. No
voter shall remain within the voting booth longer than ten
(10) minutes, and if the voter refuses to
leave after the lapse of ten (10) minutes, the voter shall
be removed from the voting booth by
order of the warden. Except for the election officials and
the election inspector, not more than two
(2) voters in excess of the
number of voting booths shall be permitted within the enclosed space
at any time.
(c) The optical scan
precinct count unit shall be programmed to return a ballot to the
voter if the voter has cast votes for more persons than
which he or she is entitled to cast. The
warden, by reading the message given on the optical scan
precinct count unit, must advise the
voter of the fact that the ballot has been over-voted. The
voter will be instructed by the warden to
remove his or her own ballot from the optical scan precinct
count unit ballot slot. The warden will
then ask the voter to surrender the ballot as void and
receive a new ballot. If the voter agrees, the
voter will make additional marks on the ballot so as not to
identify the actual votes intended by
the voter for the ballot. The ballot will be marked void
by the warden and deposited in the
receptacle for void ballots provided at the polling place. If
the voter insists on casting the over-
voted ballot, he or she will be advised that all races,
other than the over-voted race, will be
counted by the optical scan precinct count unit, and if he or
she still insists, the warden will
manually override the appropriate control on the unit and
allow for the ballot to be entered and
counted for all races other than the over-voted race.
(d)
In the event a voter incorrectly marks a ballot by indicating his or her
choices other
than in the spaces provided for them, the ballot will be
returned to the voter. The warden, by
reading the message given on the optical scan precinct count
unit, must advise the voter of the
fact that the ballot has been marked incorrectly. The
voter will be instructed by the warden to
remove his or her own ballot from the optical scan precinct
unit ballot slot. The warden will then
advise the voter to surrender the ballot as void and receive
a new ballot. If the voter agrees, the
voter will make additional marks on the ballot so as not to
identify the actual votes intended by
the voter for the ballot. The ballot will be marked void
by the warden and deposited in the
receptacle for void ballots provided at the polling place. The
warden will then provide for the
instruction of the voter on the correct manner of marking his or
her vote and the voter will be
issued a new ballot. If the voter insists on casting the
incorrectly marked ballot, the warden will
manually override the appropriate control on the optical scan
precinct count unit and allow for the
ballot to be accepted.
SECTION 2. Chapter 17-19 of the General Laws entitled
"Conduct of Election and
Voting Equipment,
and Supplies" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:
17-19-24.2.
Voter Identification. – (a) Beginning
on January 1, 2012, any person
claiming to be a registered and eligible voter who desires to
vote at a primary election, special
election or general election shall provide proof of identity.
For purposes of this section, proof of
identity shall include:
(1) A valid and
current document showing a photograph of the person to whom the
document was issued, including without limitation:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
Identification card issued by a
(v)
(vi)
Identification card issued by the
(vii) Government
issued medical card.
(2) A valid and
current document without a photograph of the person to whom the
document was issued, including without limitation:
(i)
Birth certificate;
(ii) Social security
card;
(iii) Government
issued medical card.
(b) From and after
January 1, 2014, any person claiming to be a registered and eligible
voter who desires to vote at a primary election, special
election or general election shall provide
proof of identity listed in subdivisions (a)(1).
(c) No later than
January 1, 2012,
upon request, and at no expense to the voters, at
locations and in accordance with procedures
established by rules and regulations promulgated by the secretary
of state. The purpose of this
section is to provide voter identification cards to those
voters who do not possess the
identification listed in subdivision (a)(1).
(d) If the person
claiming to be a registered and eligible voter is unable to provide proof
of identity as required in subdivisions (1) and (2)
above, the person claiming to be a registered
voter shall be allowed to vote a provisional ballot
pursuant to section 17-19-24.2 upon completing
a provisional ballot voter’s certificate and
affirmation. The local board shall determine the
validity of the provisional ballot pursuant to section
17-19-24.3.
17-19-24.3.
Provisional Ballot Procedures. – (a) At all elections, a person claiming to
be a registered and eligible voter, but who has failed
to provide proof of identity pursuant to
section 17-19-24.2 shall be allowed to vote a provisional ballot
upon executing a provisional
ballot voter’s application. All provisional ballots,
together with a provisional ballot voter’s
application, shall be placed in an envelope in the form
prescribed by the state board and deposited
in a ballot box.
(b) The local board
shall examine each provisional ballot application to determine if the
signature matches the signature on the voter’s registration. If
the local board determines that the
signatures match, the provisional ballot shall count. If the local
board determines that the
signatures do not match, the provisional ballot shall not count
and the ballot shall remain in the
envelope containing the provisional ballot application and the
envelope shall be marked
“Rejected as Illegal”.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01517/SUB A
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