| Chapter 103 |
| 2026 -- S 2309 Enacted 06/18/2026 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- PRIMARIES FOR ELECTION OF DELEGATES TO NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND FOR PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE |
Introduced By: Senators Ciccone, Tikoian, Burke, DiPalma, and Rogers |
| Date Introduced: January 23, 2026 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Sections 17-12.1-6 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: |
| 17-12.1-6. Number of signers required. |
| The nomination papers of a candidate for delegate to a national convention shall be signed, |
| in the aggregate, by at least one hundred fifty (150) fifty (50) eligible voters. |
| 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 fifty-sixth (56th) fifty-fourth (54th) 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 fifty-third (53rd) |
| 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 fifty-third (53rd) |
| fiftieth (50th) day before the presidential primary, submit to the secretary of state documentation |
| from a candidate, as set forth in § 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. Names of delegates pledged to a presidential candidate |
| who do not receive approval of the candidate for presidential nominee or approval from the |
| steering/screening committee to name the candidates’ delegates to be identified with him/her, who |
| are otherwise qualified, shall appear on the ballot in accordance with party rules. |
| (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 forty-seventh (47th) 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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| LC004291 |
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