2025 -- S 0513

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LC002178

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTION -- VOTING DISTRICTS AND OFFICIALS

     Introduced By: Senators Patalano, Dimitri, Gallo, Pearson, Thompson, Burke,
Appollonio, Britto, Tikoian, and Ciccone

     Date Introduced: February 26, 2025

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 17-11-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-11 entitled "Voting

Districts and Officials" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     17-11-1. Division of towns and representative district into voting districts.

     (a) The local board of any city or town may, on or before the sixtieth (60th) day preceding

any election, divide or redivide the city or town, or any representative district in the city or town,

into voting districts. The local board of each city or town shall determine voting districts by

geographical boundaries and by no other means. No voting district shall at any time comprise parts

of two (2) or more wards. It shall be the duty of the board to divide the city or town, representative

district, or ward so that substantially not more than three thousand (3,000) three thousand five

hundred (3,500) total eligible registered voters shall be served by the same polling place; provided,

however, that any divisions conducted by the local board pursuant to this section shall not result in

creating a polling place serving less than five hundred (500) total eligible registered voters, except

when a polling place is located in a low-income or elderly residential development, or when it is

caused by legislative district boundaries; and provided, further, that no existing polling place that

is presently located in a low-income or elderly residential development shall be eliminated. Upon

the establishment and approval of any polling place by the state board, changes to the polling place

shall not be allowed until the next redistricting by the general assembly, unless the polling place

becomes unavailable to the city or town or no longer meets polling place minimum requirements

as established by the state board, then the city or town may take the appropriate action to replace

the polling place. A polling place may be located either within or without the voting district for

which it is established; provided, that a polling place may be located outside the district only upon

unanimous determination of the local board and subject to the approval of the state board that a

suitable place is not available within the voting district.

     (b) Uniform standards for polling place location. When cities and towns shall, subject

to the approval of the state board, designate polling locations in accordance with the provisions of

this section and § 17-19-3.2, they shall take into account the following factors:

     (1) Accessibility of the polling place to historically disenfranchised communities,

including cultural groups, ethnic groups, and minority groups;

     (2) Proximity of polling places to dense concentrations of voters;

     (3) Accessibility of polling places by public transportation;

     (4) Ensuring equitable distribution of polling places in the city or town; and

     (5) Maximizing voter participation, including through the use of community centers and

public gathering places as polling places.

     (c) Established polling places unaffected.

     Any polling place established by the local board and approved in accordance with

subsections (a) and (b) of this section that, in the course of the normal rise and fall of voter

registrations, exceeds the total registered voter threshold established by this section for a biennial

general election, shall be permitted to continue over the cap set by subsection (a) of this section

until such time as polling places are reestablished following the next decennial redistricting, only

upon unanimous approval of the local board and additional certification by the board of elections

that the polling place can sufficiently serve the anticipated voter turnout for each separate general

election that the polling place will be utilized.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTION -- VOTING DISTRICTS AND OFFICIALS

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     This act would increase the maximum number of voters that a polling place can

accommodate, from three thousand (3,000) to three thousand five hundred (3,500), and would

provide for existing polling places that exceed the maximum number of voters, not to be changed

until the next decennial redistricting, if approved by a unanimous vote of the local board and

certified by the state board of elections.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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