2021 -- S 0624

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LC001862

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- WRITE-IN VOTES

     Introduced By: Senator Stephen R. Archambault

     Date Introduced: March 11, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     (Board of Elections)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 17-19-31 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-19 entitled "Conduct of

Election and Voting Equipment, and Supplies" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     17-19-31. Irregular ballots.

     Ballots voted for any office in which no eligible candidate appears on the ballot for that

office, or in any other office for any person whose name does not appear on the ballot as a

nominated candidate for office and who has been duly qualified under the requirements of § 17-

14-18 are referred to in this section as "irregular ballots." In voting for presidential electors, a voter

may vote an irregular ticket made up of the names of persons in nomination by different parties; or

partly of names of persons in nomination and partly of names of persons not in nomination; or

wholly of names of persons not in nomination by any party. Scanned images of the computer ballot

containing the irregular ballot shall be stored digitally on physical electronic media in the optical-

scan precinct-count unit. With that exception, no irregular ballot shall be voted for any person for

any office whose name appears on the ballot as a nominated candidate for that office, nor shall any

irregular ballot be voted for any person who has not been duly qualified under the requirements of

§ 17-14-18, unless said vote is cast for an office in which no eligible candidate appears on the ballot

for that office; any irregular ballot so voted shall not be counted. An irregular ballot must be cast

in its appropriate place on the ballot, or it shall be void and not counted and no irregular ballots

shall be counted at primaries; provided, that at any presidential primary, irregular ballots shall be

counted for those persons whose names have been written in for the office of president. At the close

of the polls, irregular ballots shall be packaged according to § 17-19-33 and shall be immediately

delivered to the local board of canvassers. The local board shall receive the tape from the optical

precinct-count unit containing printed images of each written name on the irregular ballots, or the

physical electronic media containing images of the irregular ballots and shall only record all write-

in votes cast for persons meeting the requirements of this section for all federal, state, and local

races listed on the tape. The local board shall notify the state board of the results through a

procedure promulgated by the state board.

     SECTION 2. Section 17-22-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-22 entitled "Tabulation

and Certification of Returns by State Board" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     17-22-7. Books of record of votes -- Contents.

     (a) The board shall keep separate books of record of the votes cast for the different classes

of officers which it is its duty to count, canvass, and tabulate, as follows:

     (1) A book of record of votes cast for electors of president and vice-president;

     (2) A book of record of votes cast for senators and representatives in congress;

     (3) A book of record of votes cast for general officers; and

     (4) A book of record of the votes cast for each class of officers that may by law

subsequently be required to be counted, canvassed, and tabulated by the board.

     (b) Each of the respective books shall contain:

     (1) A record of the number of votes cast in each voting district for each candidate according

to the counting, canvassing, and tabulating of the board;

     (2) The number cast in each voting district for each candidate according to the certificates

of the moderators or wardens and clerks;

     (3) The total number cast for each candidate in each town and city according to the counting

and to the certificates;

     (4) The total number cast for each candidate in the state or congressional district, as the

case may be, according to the counting and the certificates;

     (5) A statement of which candidates are elected; and

     (6) Any other pertinent facts that the board deems proper.

     (c) The board shall also keep a book of record of the votes cast for and against any

proposition of amendment of the Constitution and a book of record of the votes cast for and against

all questions submitted to the electors of the state, with like detail as provided in this section in

relation to votes cast for officers.

     (d) Notwithstanding the above, the state board shall report all write-in votes received by

persons qualifying as write-in candidates, pursuant to the requirements of § 17-19-31 and, not

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otherwise qualifying to appear on the ballot and receiving less than five (5) votes in a race, as a

composite total of all write-in votes cast for said office.

     SECTION 3. Chapter 17-14 of the General Laws entitled "Nomination of Party and

Independent Candidates" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     17-14-18. Declaration of intent of write-in candidacy.

     (a) No later than four o’clock (4:00) p.m. on the first Friday preceding any presidential

preference primary or general election or election regularly scheduled for a time other than the

biennial general statewide election, each voter seeking to be a write-in candidate at the upcoming

election shall, on a form that shall be provided by the secretary of state, file a declaration of his or

her intent of write-in candidacy for a federal, state, or local office, appearing on the ballot. The

declaration of intent shall be signed by the candidate, as his or her name appears on the voting list.

The signature shall be accepted as valid, if it is original and can be reasonably identified to be the

name and signature of the voter it purports to be. A variation of the voter's signature by the insertion

or omission of identifying titles or by the substitution of initials for the first or middle names of

both, shall not in itself be grounds for invalidation of the signature. The declaration shall also

include the following information:

     (1) The candidate's name as it appears on the voting list, subject to the same provisions as

relate to the voter's signature on the declaration;

     (2) The address as it appears on the voting list, provided that an address which is

substantially the same as the address on the voting list shall be valid;

     (3) The office sought;

     (4) The candidate's place and date of birth;

     (5) The length of the candidate's residence in the state and in the town or city where he or

she resides;

     (6) A certification that he or she is neither serving a sentence, including probation or parole,

for which he or she was imprisoned, upon final conviction of a felony imposed on any date, nor

serving any sentence, whether incarcerated or suspended, on probation or parole, upon final

conviction of a felony committed after November 5, 1986;

     (7) A certification that he or she has not been lawfully adjudicated to be non compos

mentis, of unsound mind;

     (8) If a person is a candidate for a state or local office, a certification that the person has

not within the preceding three (3) years served any sentence, incarcerated or suspended, on

probation or parole, for a crime committed after November 5, 1986, upon plea of nolo contendere

or guilty or upon a conviction of a felony or for a misdemeanor for which a sentence of

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imprisonment for six (6) months or more, whether suspended or to be served as imposed.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- WRITE-IN VOTES

***

     This act would require all write-in candidates to file, prior to election, a declaration of their

intent to run for office with the secretary of state. It would require the tallying of votes only for

contests in which no candidate appears on the ballot or for candidates meeting the declaration

requirements. Finally it would require the board of elections to report all votes received by declared

write-in candidates.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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