2012 -- S 2489 SUBSTITUTE A

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LC01472/SUB A/2

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2012

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A N A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS

     Introduced By: Senators Doyle, Bates, Crowley, and Nesselbush

     Date Introduced: February 16, 2012

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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

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

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

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

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divide or redivide the city or town, or any representative district in the city or town, into voting

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

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boundaries and by no other means. No voting district shall at any time comprise parts of two (2)

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or more wards. It shall be the duty of the board to divide the city or town, representative district,

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or ward, so that substantially not more than nineteen hundred (1900) three thousand (3,000) total

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registered voters shall be served by the same polling place; provided, that subject to the approval

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of the state board, a local board may provide for serving more than nineteen hundred (1900)

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voters in the same polling place where the effect to the contrary would be of however, that any

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divisions conducted by the local board pursuant to this section shall not result in creating a

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polling place serving less than one hundred fifty (150) five hundred (500) total registered voters,

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except when it is caused by legislative district boundaries. Upon the establishment and approval

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of any polling place by the local board, no changes shall be made, nor any polling place altered

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until the next redistricting action taken by the general assembly, except if a particular polling

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location is destroyed by fire or becomes unavailable to the city or town, through no action of the

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city or town, then the city or town may take the appropriate action to replace said polling place in

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conformity with the requirements of this section.

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     A polling place may be located either within or without the voting district for which it is

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

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

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suitable place is not available within the voting district. In making the calculation required by this

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section, voters whose names are on the inactive list of voters shall not be included.

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     SECTION 2. Section 17-1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-1 entitled "General

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Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     17-1-2. Definitions. -- For the purposes this title, except as may otherwise be required by

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the context:

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      (1) "Election" means the filling of any public office or the determination of any public

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question by vote of the electorate, and includes without limitation any state, town, or city office

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or question, and any political party primary election for the nomination of any candidate for

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public office; except that it shall not include a financial town meeting or a meeting to elect

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officers of a fire, water, or sewer district;

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      (2) "General election" means an election held on the first Tuesday next after the first

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Monday in November in even numbered years for the election of members of the general

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assembly and/or for the election of general officers, and/or for the election of presidential electors

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for president/vice-president of the United States;

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      (3) "General officer" means an officer designated as a general officer by chapter 2 of this

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title;

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      (4) "Independent candidate" means a candidate who has no affiliation with any political

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party;

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      (5) "Local board" means a town or city board of canvassers, board of canvassers and

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registration, canvassing authority, or any other local board, commission, or officer empowered by

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law to have custody of the permanent registration records;

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      (6) "Local election" means any election limited to the electorate of any city or town, or

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any part, at which any city, town, ward, or district officers are to be chosen, or any elective

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meeting at which a question is to be submitted to the voters of a city, town, or any subdivision of

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a city or town, but it shall not include a financial town meeting;

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      (7) "Party member" means any person who is a member of a designated political party

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pursuant to section 17-9.1-23;

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      (8) "Party voter" means any qualified voter who is eligible to vote at the primary election

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of a political party;

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      (9) "Political party" or "party" means: (i) any political organization which, at the next

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preceding general election for the election of general officers, nominated a candidate for

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governor, and whose candidate for governor at the election polled at least five percent (5%) of the

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entire vote cast in the state for governor, or (ii) any political organization which at the next

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preceding general election for the election of a president of the United States nominated a

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candidate for president and whose candidate for president at the election polled at least five

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percent (5%) of the entire vote cast in the state for president, or (iii) any political organization

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which, on petition forms provided to the chairperson of the organization by the state board of

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elections, obtains the signatures and addresses of that number of registered qualified voters equal

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to five percent (5%) of the entire vote cast in the state for governor or president in the

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immediately preceding general election. All the signatures must be obtained no earlier than

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January 1 of the year in which the political organization desires to place a candidate or candidates

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on any ballot as a "party" candidate. If the political organization wishes to select its nominees in a

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primary election, the petitions, bearing the requisite number of valid signatures, shall be presented

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to the appropriate local boards of canvassers no later than June 1 of the same year. If the petitions

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are validated by the local boards as containing the requisite number of valid signatures, the

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political organization shall be deemed to be a political party for all elections held during the year

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and may select its nominees in a primary election. If the political organization does not wish to

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select its nominees in a primary election, then the petitions need not be returned to local boards of

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canvassers until August 1 of the same year. An organization qualifying as a political party

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through the petition process shall qualify as a political party only during the year in which

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signatures are obtained unless the candidates for governor or president of the United States of the

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party at a general election held in the year, shall receive five percent (5%) of the vote as provided

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in this subdivision for either governor or president of the United States. If the candidates do not

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receive five percent (5%) of the vote, the organization shall no longer qualify as a political party

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unless and until it shall, in a subsequent year, once again qualify by the submission of petitions;

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      (10) "Polling place" means the room in which any election or elective meeting is

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conducted;

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      (11) "Primary election" means any election to select the candidates of a political party;

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      (12) "Proposition" or "public question" means any question put to a referendum of the

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electorate of the entire state or any part of it;

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      (13) "Qualified voter" means any person who is eligible to vote under the requirements

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of age, residence, and citizenship prescribed by the state constitution and who is duly registered

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to vote, or who is exempt from registration, pursuant to this title, and who is not otherwise

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disqualified as a voter pursuant to law;

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      (14) "Special election" means any election other than a local election or primary election

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which is not held on a general election day;

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      (15) "State board" means the state board of elections constituted pursuant to this title;

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      (16) "State election" means any election at which any presidential electors, senator or

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representatives in congress, general officers of the state, or members of the general assembly are

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to be chosen, or at which a public question or an amendment to the Constitution is submitted to

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the electors of the state;

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      (17) "State officer" means the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney

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general, general treasurer, state senator, and state representative;

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      (18) "Vacancy in office" means the condition resulting from any failure to elect or

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appoint an eligible and qualified person to public office, or the failure of any person duly elected

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or appointed to qualify, or from the death, resignation, or removal of an incumbent prior to the

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expiration of his or her term of office and where no fixed term is prescribed upon the death,

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resignation, or removal;

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     (19) “Voting District” means a polling place or the specific site where a voter casts a

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ballot;

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     (19)(20) "Voting list" means the complete list of all voters prepared from the information

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contained in the original permanent registration records in the possession of the local board of

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canvassers;

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      (20)(21) "Warden" includes "moderator" and vice versa;

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      (21)(22) Words importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine gender.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on May 1, 2012 and shall be applicable to the 2012

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state and federal primary and general election.

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LC01472/SUB A/2

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS

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     This act would increase the maximum number of active voters served by the same polling

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place from 1,900 voters to 3,000 as long as the effect would not result in a voting place serving

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less than 500 voters, except when it is caused by legislative district boundaries.

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     This act would take effect on May 1, 2012 and would be applicable to the 2012 state and

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federal primary and general elections.

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LC01472/SUB A/2

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