2013 -- H 5487

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LC01182

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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A N A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- MAIL BALLOTS

     Introduced By: Representatives San Bento, and Kennedy

     Date Introduced: February 14, 2013

     Referred To: House Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 17-20-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-20 entitled "Mail

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Ballots" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     17-20-26. Opening and counting of ballots. -- (a) (1) Beginning prior to and continuing

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on election day the state board, upon receipt of mail ballots, shall keep the ballots in a safe and

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secure place which shall be separate and apart from the general public area, and shall:

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      (i) Open the outer envelope and attach the matching ballot application to the inner

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certifying envelope;

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      (ii) Beginning fourteen (14) days prior to and continuing on election day, proceed to

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certify the mail ballots.

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      (2) Notice of these sessions shall be given to the public by announcements in newspapers

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of general circulation published on the board of elections and the secretary of state's website at

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least twenty-four (24) hours before the commencing of any session. All candidates for state and

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federal office, as well as all state party chairpersons major political parties, shall be given notice

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by telephone or otherwise of sessions the day on which ballots effecting that candidate's district

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will be certified; provided, that failure to effect the notice shall in no way invalidate the ballots.

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      (b) This processing shall be done within a railed space in the room in which it takes

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place, and the board shall admit within the railed space, in accordance with those rules that the

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board shall adopt, to witness the processing and certification of the ballots, the interested voter or

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the voter's representative, the candidates, or at least one representative of each candidate for

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whom votes are at the time being processed, and an equal number of representatives of each

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political party. These representatives shall be authorized in writing by the voter, the candidate, or

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the chairperson of the state committee of the political party, respectively, as the case may be. The

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board shall also, in accordance with these rules, admit representatives of the press and

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newscasting agencies and any other persons that it deems proper.

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      (c) At these sessions, and before certifying any ballot, the state board shall:

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      (1) Determine the city or town, in which the voter cast his or her ballot and classify

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accordingly; and

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      (2) Compare the name, residence, and signature of the voter with the name, residence,

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and signature on the ballot application for mail ballots and satisfy itself that both signatures are

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identical.

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      (d) If upon completion of the certification of a mail ballot no objection has been raised

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against the certification of the ballot, the outer envelope shall be discarded. However, if an

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objection has been raised that entails further consideration and determination by the board, the

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outer envelope shall remain attached to the certifying inner envelope for identification purposes.

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      (e)(d) The board shall establish guidelines setting forth the grounds for challenging the

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certification of mail ballots. These guidelines shall recognize that if a ballot can be reasonably

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identified to be that of the voter it purports to be, and if it can reasonably be determined that the

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voter was eligible to vote by mail ballot and if the requirements of section 17-20-2.1 were

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complied with, it should not be subject to frivolous or technical challenge. The burden of proof in

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challenging a mail ballot as not obtained and/or cast in conformance with this chapter is on the

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person challenging the ballot. Once the irregularity is shown, the burden of proof shall shift to the

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person defending the ballot to demonstrate that it is the ballot of the voter it purports to be, that

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the voter was eligible to vote by mail ballot, and that all of the applicable requirements of section

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17-20-2.1 were complied with. The guidelines shall be adopted at a public meeting of the board

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and shall be made available prior to the start of the certification process for mail ballots.

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      (f)(e) After processing and certification of the mail ballots, they shall be separated in

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packages in accordance with their respective cities and towns, in the presence of the board and all

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other interested parties. Thereupon, in each instance the board shall open the enclosing envelope,

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and without looking at the votes cast on the enclosed ballot, shall remove the ballot from the

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envelope. The state board shall proceed to count the ballots on election day through the use of a

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central count optical scan unit with the same effect as if the ballots had been cast by the electors

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in open town or district meetings.

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      (g)(f) When a local election is held at a time other than in conjunction with a statewide

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election, the state board, after the processing and certification of the mail ballots cast in the local

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election, shall package the local ballots to be promptly delivered in sealed packages, bearing upon

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the seals the signatures of the members of the board, to the appropriate local board which shall

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[a]thereupon proceed to count the ballots in the same manner and with the same effect as state

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mail ballots are counted by the state board.

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      (h)(g) When a local election is held in New Shoreham at a time other than in conjunction

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with a statewide election, the state board, after the processing and certification of the mail ballots

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cast in the local election, shall have the authority to count the ballots in the same manner and with

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the same effect as state mail ballots are counted by the state board in a statewide election. Once

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the ballots are counted, the results shall be sent via facsimile to the local board in New Shoreham.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC01182

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- MAIL BALLOTS

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     This act would change how public and private announcements are given by the board of

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elections concerning the opening and counting of ballots. It would also delete references to the

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discarding of the mail ballot envelopes.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC01182

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