2013 -- S 0421 | |
======= | |
LC01599 | |
======= | |
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
| |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
| |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013 | |
| |
____________ | |
| |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS | |
|
      |
|
      |
     Introduced By: Senators Crowley, Cool Rumsey, and Pichardo | |
     Date Introduced: February 26, 2013 | |
     Referred To: Senate Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1-1 |
     SECTION 1. Sections 17-19-1, 17-19-3, 17-19-21, 17-19-24.1, 17-19-37.1, 17-19-39.1, |
1-2 |
17-19-43 and 17-19-49 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-19 entitled "Conduct of Election and |
1-3 |
Voting Equipment, and Supplies" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
1-4 |
     17-19-1. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter, except as otherwise required by the |
1-5 |
context: |
1-6 |
      (1) "Computer ballot" means the paper ballot prepared by the office of the secretary of |
1-7 |
state for use in conjunction with the optical scan precinct count system; |
1-8 |
      (2) "Voting equipment" means an optical scan precinct count voting system, related |
1-9 |
memory device, all related hardware and software, and voting booths; |
1-10 |
      (3) "Warden" includes moderator; and vice versa; |
1-11 |
      (4) "Candidate" means any individual who has qualified under law to have his or her |
1-12 |
name appear on the ballot for nomination for election or election to office; |
1-13 |
      (5) "Write-in candidate" means any individual receiving votes or seeking election to |
1-14 |
office by virtue of having irregular ballots cast for him or her pursuant to section 17-19-31; |
1-15 |
      (6) "Public office" means any state, municipal, school or district office or other position |
1-16 |
that is filled by popular election, except political party offices which shall mean any state, city, |
1-17 |
town, ward or representative or senatorial district committee office of a political party or delegate |
1-18 |
to a political party convention, or any similar office; and |
1-19 |
      (7) A "Vote" shall be any mark made with the appropriate marking device within the |
1-20 |
optech ballot voting area between the head and tail of the arrow on the computer ballot next to the |
2-1 |
party, candidate, write-in candidate or question, as is applicable, for whom the voter casts his or |
2-2 |
her ballot, except as provided in |
2-3 |
     17-19-3. Voting equipment and services -- Specifications. -- (a) The office of secretary |
2-4 |
of state and the state board of elections shall submit specifications to the department of |
2-5 |
administration, which the department of administration shall consult in developing a request for a |
2-6 |
proposal, as set forth in section 17-19-2.1. These specifications must be submitted to the |
2-7 |
department of administration within thirty (30) days of the passage of this bill. These |
2-8 |
specifications and the request for a proposal for the options of purchasing, leasing to own or |
2-9 |
renting an optical scan precinct count voting system, and for a full service contract for an optical |
2-10 |
scan precinct count voting system, shall propose an optical scan precinct count system that shall |
2-11 |
be constructed and shall operate in a manner that meets the following minimum requirements: |
2-12 |
      (1) It shall enable the voter to: |
2-13 |
      (i) Mark his or her ballot and cast his or her vote in secrecy; |
2-14 |
      (ii) Vote for all candidates of political parties or organizations, and for or against |
2-15 |
questions as submitted; |
2-16 |
      (iii) Vote for all the candidates of one party or in part for the candidates of one or more |
2-17 |
other parties; |
2-18 |
      (iv) Vote for as many persons for an office as the voter is lawfully entitled to vote for, |
2-19 |
but no more; and |
2-20 |
      (v) Vote on any question the voter may have the right to vote on; |
2-21 |
      (2) It shall prevent the voter from voting for the same person more than once for the |
2-22 |
same office; |
2-23 |
      (3) The voting equipment shall allow the voter to cast one vote, thereby allowing the |
2-24 |
voter to vote for all the presidential electors of a party by marking one mark on the ballot, and a |
2-25 |
ballot containing only the words "presidential electors for" preceded by the name of that party |
2-26 |
and followed by the names of the candidates of that party for the offices of president and vice- |
2-27 |
president; provided, that means shall be furnished by which the voter can cast a vote in part for |
2-28 |
the candidates for presidential electors of one party, and in part for those of one or more other |
2-29 |
parties or in part or in whole for persons not nominated by any party; |
2-30 |
      (4) The optical scan precinct counting system shall meet the following specifications: |
2-31 |
      (i) Vote counting, including absentee ballots, shall be performed through the use of |
2-32 |
automated electronic equipment; |
2-33 |
      (ii) All vote counting shall be performed on equipment supplied as part of the bid. The |
2-34 |
system shall not require the use of non-supplied equipment to count ballots or tabulate results; |
3-1 |
      (iii) There shall be privacy enclosures in which a voter may mark his or her ballot or |
3-2 |
otherwise cast his or her vote in secret; |
3-3 |
      (iv) There shall be a device located in each polling place that can record the vote count |
3-4 |
and tally the vote count in that polling place and which can produce a printed tally of all races |
3-5 |
contained on said ballot in human readable form. The device shall automatically print a "zero |
3-6 |
report" at the beginning of the day when the device is activated. The device that receives ballots |
3-7 |
for counting shall have an external counter indicating the number of ballots received. The actual |
3-8 |
vote tally shall be capable of being performed only by election officials and shall not be visible |
3-9 |
during the actual voting process. Each recording device shall rest on a ballot box which must |
3-10 |
have compartments with doors that lock for security of voted ballots and ease of access; |
3-11 |
      (v) As part of the voting process, there shall be created a physical ballot showing the |
3-12 |
votes cast by an individual voter which is capable of being hand counted so that electronic |
3-13 |
recorded device totals can be checked for accuracy for auditing purposes, or in the event that a |
3-14 |
recount conducted pursuant to this chapter indicates a discrepancy in the number of votes cast in |
3-15 |
an election or ballot question, or where necessary to ascertain voter intent as provided herein, or |
3-16 |
to otherwise ensure implementation of a voter's exercise of his or her right to vote. The device |
3-17 |
must be able to accept a one, two (2) or three (3) column ballot which can be printed on one or |
3-18 |
both sides; |
3-19 |
      (vi) There shall be a device at each polling place to receive the physical audit trail of |
3-20 |
ballots cast and which shall securely store the ballots and have the capability of restricting access |
3-21 |
to the ballots only to authorize officials; |
3-22 |
      (vii) In the event of loss of electrical power, the polling place vote count shall be stored |
3-23 |
on an ongoing basis in media which will retain the count of the votes cast to that point in time for |
3-24 |
a period of no less than five (5) years; |
3-25 |
      (viii) The polling place vote counts shall be stored on a stable media which may be |
3-26 |
easily transported and which may be accessed and counted by an electronic device so that state, |
3-27 |
city and/or town vote totals can be electronically calculated by combining individual polling |
3-28 |
place totals. It shall not be necessary to enter individual polling place totals by and into a central |
3-29 |
computer or device for the purpose of producing the state, city and/or town totals, but rather the |
3-30 |
electronic media on which the polling place totals are stored shall be directly readable and |
3-31 |
accessible by a regional or central device; |
3-32 |
      (ix) There shall be a device which has the capability to electronically read the storage |
3-33 |
device upon which the individual polling place totals are stored and which shall produce a |
3-34 |
combined total for all races, which total can be printed in easily readable and legible form in a |
4-1 |
format prescribed by the state board of elections; |
4-2 |
      (x) The system provided shall allow the secretary of state to have the capability to design |
4-3 |
the ballot format; |
4-4 |
      (xi) The system shall provide a capability for the state, without the use of outside |
4-5 |
services, to set up and prepare the counting devices to total an election; and |
4-6 |
      (xii) The system must be capable of receiving voted ballots without counting when |
4-7 |
without power, and must provide for securely storing uncounted ballots; |
4-8 |
      (5) The following minimum equipment shall be required for the state: |
4-9 |
      (i) There shall be six hundred (600) units to permit counting to be conducted in each |
4-10 |
polling place within the state with a reserve of equipment on hand; |
4-11 |
      (ii) There shall be sufficient voting booths to allow one voting booth for approximately |
4-12 |
every one hundred seventy-five (175) voters as determined in this title; |
4-13 |
      (iii) The number of polling place units and voting booths must be sufficient to permit the |
4-14 |
election to run smoothly without excessive waiting of voters; |
4-15 |
      (iv) If there is an increase in the number of polling places statewide during the term of |
4-16 |
the contract, the vendor will supply additional polling place units and voting booths at a cost |
4-17 |
proportional to the cost of the initial units pro rated for the balance of the agreement years; |
4-18 |
      (v) (A) There shall be high speed absentee vote tabulating equipment. These tabulators |
4-19 |
as a whole must be capable of counting a minimum of four hundred (400) absentee ballots per |
4-20 |
minute. The tabulators shall utilize the same ballots used in the polling place; |
4-21 |
      (B) This system shall have the following capabilities in connection with the counting of |
4-22 |
ballots and producing results: |
4-23 |
      (I) This system shall be able to read the media from the polling place units on which |
4-24 |
polling place results are stored and shall be able to compile polling place results producing a |
4-25 |
ballot total for each race; and |
4-26 |
      (II) This system shall be capable of producing and printing out ballot totals on a polling |
4-27 |
place by polling place basis for each race, and shall be capable of producing a final total and |
4-28 |
subtotals of all races from all races and polling places in the state. All totals must be able to be |
4-29 |
produced at any time based upon the number of polling places counted up to that point in time, |
4-30 |
and these printout results shall state the number of precincts counted and the percentage of |
4-31 |
precincts reporting; |
4-32 |
      (vi) There shall be all equipment necessary to program the system and erase the memory |
4-33 |
devices; |
5-34 |
      (vii) Regional tabulating equipment shall be located in each of the thirty-nine (39) local |
5-35 |
boards of canvassers and the central tabulation equipment shall be located at the state board of |
5-36 |
elections. The state board of elections, thirty (30) days prior to an election, shall determine which |
5-37 |
regional and/or central tabulation sites are to be utilized for the election. The tabulation system |
5-38 |
shall have the following capabilities in connection with the counting of ballots and producing |
5-39 |
results: |
5-40 |
      (A) This system shall be able to read the media from the polling place units on which |
5-41 |
polling place results are stored and shall be able to compile polling place results producing a |
5-42 |
ballot total for each race; |
5-43 |
      (B) This system shall be capable of producing and printing out ballot totals on a polling |
5-44 |
place by polling place basis for each race and shall be capable of producing a final total and |
5-45 |
subtotal of all races from all races and polling places in the state; |
5-46 |
      (C) All totals must be able to be produced at any time based upon the number of polling |
5-47 |
places counted up to that point in time, and the printout results shall state the number of precincts |
5-48 |
counted and the percentage of precincts reporting; and |
5-49 |
      (D) This system shall be capable of transferring information gathered at each regional |
5-50 |
site to the central site, and shall also be capable of transferring information gathered at the central |
5-51 |
site to a specific regional site; |
5-52 |
      (6) All necessary programming and accumulation software shall be provided to run the |
5-53 |
election system in accordance with the required specifications as well as all necessary and |
5-54 |
required modules. Any software updates during the term of the agreement shall not be charged to |
5-55 |
the state; |
5-56 |
      (7) The vendor of the optical scan precinct count system shall provide written proof of |
5-57 |
compliance with Federal Election Commission standards from an independent testing company |
5-58 |
and this written proof must be on file with the office of the secretary of state and the state board |
5-59 |
of elections; |
5-60 |
      (8) The vendor shall also provide the following information to be included in the |
5-61 |
vendor's bid proposal: |
5-62 |
      (i) (A) An audited financial statement covering the previous five (5) years, and if the |
5-63 |
vendor is not the manufacturer of the equipment, both the agent and manufacturer must submit an |
5-64 |
audited financial statement covering the previous five (5) years with the bid; |
5-65 |
      (B) In the event that either the vendor, agent, or manufacturer has been in existence for |
5-66 |
less than five (5) years, that entity must submit an audited financial statement for each and every |
5-67 |
full year that they have been in existence; |
6-68 |
      (ii) Proof of experience in the field of elections including, but not limited to, years of |
6-69 |
experience in this field, and experience with a jurisdiction having the same needs as the state of |
6-70 |
Rhode Island; and |
6-71 |
      (iii) Names and addresses of the support organizations that will provide support of all |
6-72 |
equipment. |
6-73 |
      (b) The full service plan shall include the following services, but, at the discretion of the |
6-74 |
department of administration, shall not be limited to the following services: |
6-75 |
      (1) Computer coding and layout of all ballots to be used in each election under contract |
6-76 |
in conjunction with the office of the secretary of state, including the printing of the ballot and the |
6-77 |
preparation of the device to ensure that the ballots are compatible with the device. Subsequent |
6-78 |
thereto, the state board of elections shall be responsible for the following: |
6-79 |
      (2) Testing of each unit for logic and accuracy; |
6-80 |
      (3) Testing of each programmed memory cartridge; |
6-81 |
      (4) Set up of each optical scan precinct count unit at each polling place; |
6-82 |
      (5) Maintenance of all optical precinct count units; |
6-83 |
      (6) Training of poll workers; |
6-84 |
      (7) On-site election night staff at the central tabulation location and any other locations |
6-85 |
as may be determined by the state board to receive and transmit election results; |
6-86 |
      (8) On-site election day field technicians to respond to repair calls; |
6-87 |
      (9) Providing the following equipment and supplies: |
6-88 |
      (i) Secrecy covers for voted ballots; |
6-89 |
      (ii) Demonstration ballots; |
6-90 |
      (iii) Precision cut shell program ballots ready for printing with timing marks; |
6-91 |
      (iv) Marking pens; |
6-92 |
      (v) Ballot transfer cases; |
6-93 |
      (vi) Envelopes for mailing and receiving absentee ballots; and |
6-94 |
      (vii) Printer ribbons, paper tape rolls and seals. |
6-95 |
      (c) Any bid specifications for an optical scan precinct count system and a full service |
6-96 |
agreement for an optical scan precinct count system that do not conform in all respects to the |
6-97 |
requirements of subdivisions (a)(1) -- (b)(9)(vii) of this section shall not be submitted to the |
6-98 |
office of the department of administration; provided, that the director of administration may |
6-99 |
waive any one of the requirements with respect to the full service agreement portion of the bid, |
6-100 |
after consultation with the chairperson of the state board of elections and the secretary of state, in |
6-101 |
order to preserve an otherwise acceptable bid. |
7-102 |
      (d) Upon expiration of the initial full service agreement as set forth in the provisions of |
7-103 |
section 17-19-2.1, the state board shall conduct a review of the election system, provide a report |
7-104 |
to the general assembly and shall subsequently assume responsibility for establishing minimum |
7-105 |
requirements and specifications for the procurement of voting equipment and services. |
7-106 |
     (e) The board of elections shall specify, by promulgated regulation, all programming |
7-107 |
standards of the voting equipment that relate to the equipment's acceptance or rejection of ballots, |
7-108 |
or of particular votes on a ballot, due to overvoting, undervoting, or any other reason. |
7-109 |
     17-19-21. Arrangement of polling places -- Election officials -- Police officers. -- (a) |
7-110 |
The polling places shall be established, equipped, and furnished with the paraphernalia necessary |
7-111 |
for the conduct of each election, by the officers and in the manner provided by this title. There |
7-112 |
shall be placed, outside each polling place, a clearly marked sign to be provided by the state |
7-113 |
board of elections indicating the location of the polling place. This sign shall be of a conspicuous |
7-114 |
nature, and shall be visible from the street. The area within which the balloting is conducted shall |
7-115 |
be arranged with a guard rail having one place for entrance and another place for exit. The rail |
7-116 |
shall be placed so that only persons admitted inside the rail can approach within five (5) feet of |
7-117 |
any voting booth or optical scan precinct count unit. The voting booths and optical scan precinct |
7-118 |
count unit shall be placed so that the warden and the clerk shall always have a clear view of the |
7-119 |
front of each voting booth and the optical scan unit. It shall be the duty of the warden to direct the |
7-120 |
location of the voting equipment in relation to the guard rail and the posts of the warden and the |
7-121 |
clerk so as to enforce the requirements of this section. |
7-122 |
      (b) One bipartisan pair of supervisors, the clerk, and the warden shall be stationed, in |
7-123 |
that order, along the guard rail so that a voter desiring to cast a ballot will pass first in front of the |
7-124 |
bipartisan pair, then in front of the clerk, and finally in front of the warden. A second bipartisan |
7-125 |
pair shall be stationed within the guard rail and shall be available to relieve the first bipartisan |
7-126 |
pair or the clerk, and to assist voters within the limits prescribed by this title. The second |
7-127 |
bipartisan pair, when not engaged in the preceding duties, shall watch the voters in and about the |
7-128 |
voting equipment and shall call to the attention of the warden any violation, or circumstance |
7-129 |
suggesting a violation, of the provisions of this title. |
7-130 |
      (c) The chiefs of police of cities and towns, and town sergeants of towns having no chief |
7-131 |
of police, shall detail a certain number of police officers to each polling place as may be |
7-132 |
requested by the local board. The police officers shall preserve order at each polling place and |
7-133 |
within two hundred (200) feet of the polling place. It shall be the duty of every police officer or |
7-134 |
other peace officer or constable to arrest without warrant any person detected in the act of |
7-135 |
violating the provisions of this chapter, but no arrest shall be made without the approval of the |
7-136 |
warden. |
8-1 |
      (d) The election officials provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be |
8-2 |
provided with, and shall be required to prominently display upon their persons, identification |
8-3 |
badges which shall designate that person as an election official. Powers and duties of all |
8-4 |
designated election officials at polls shall be posted in a conspicuous and prominent location |
8-5 |
within the voting place, preferably with the posted sample ballot. |
8-6 |
     (e) Any person may enter a polling place to observe its operation and take notes, provided |
8-7 |
that the person does not disturb the conduct of the voting process or engage in electioneering |
8-8 |
activity otherwise prohibited by this title. |
8-9 |
     17-19-24.1. Provisional voting under the Help America Vote Act of 2002. -- (a) If an |
8-10 |
individual's name does not appear on the certified voting list as provided for in section 17-19- |
8-11 |
24(b) and the individual is eligible to vote in an election for federal office or an election official |
8-12 |
asserts that the individual is not eligible to vote in the district in which the individual desires to |
8-13 |
vote, then the individual shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot as provided in Section 302 |
8-14 |
of the Help America Vote Act (P.L. 107-252) [42 U.S.C. section 15481]. |
8-15 |
      (b) Provisional ballots provided for in this section shall be cast in accordance with rules |
8-16 |
and regulations which shall be promulgated by the state board of elections in accordance with the |
8-17 |
Help America Vote Act (P.L. 107-252) [42 U.S.C. section 15301 et seq] and this section. |
8-18 |
     (c) If an individual casting the ballot is a registered voter in the city/town and precinct in |
8-19 |
which he or she voted, a provisional ballot shall be counted as a full ballot. |
8-20 |
     (d) If the individual is a registered voter in the city/town and proper congressional |
8-21 |
district, but not the precinct in which he or she voted, the ballot will be counted for all federal, |
8-22 |
state-wide, city-wide or town-wide elections and for all ballot questions. |
8-23 |
     (e) In all other instances, where the individual is not a registered voter in the city/town or |
8-24 |
is in the wrong congressional district in which the individual cast his/her ballot, the ballot shall be |
8-25 |
counted for all elections and ballot questions for which the person is qualified, by reason of |
8-26 |
residency, to vote. |
8-27 |
     (f) To the extent not prohibited by federal law: |
8-28 |
     (1) The name, designation of party affiliation, street address, city or town, and previous |
8-29 |
name and address of an applicant for a provisional ballot, the reason for the provisional ballot, |
8-30 |
and the disposition of the provisional ballot shall be public; and |
8-31 |
     (2) The determination process for the disposition of a provisional ballot shall be |
8-32 |
conducted in public. |
8-33 |
      |
9-34 |
     (g) Any person who is given a provisional ballot because he or she is a first-time voter |
9-35 |
who directly registered by mail and failed to provide the identifying information required by the |
9-36 |
Help America Vote Act at the time of registration or prior to his or her vote shall have forty-eight |
9-37 |
(48) hours from the close of the polls to provide the necessary identification in order to have his |
9-38 |
or her vote counted. |
9-39 |
     (h) Between fifteen (15) and forty (40) days before a statewide election, the board shall |
9-40 |
send a written notice by first-class mail to every mail registrant who failed to provide the |
9-41 |
identifying information required by the Help America Vote Act at the time of registration or prior |
9-42 |
to his or her vote. The notice shall inform the registrant of his or her need to provide |
9-43 |
identification in order to have his or her vote counted, and describe the types of identification that |
9-44 |
are acceptable. The notice shall be written in such a manner as to ensure ease of comprehension |
9-45 |
by the recipients. |
9-46 |
     17-19-37.1. Recount eligibility -- Candidates for public office. -- A candidate for |
9-47 |
election or nomination for election to public office shall be eligible to request a recount of the |
9-48 |
votes cast in his or her race pursuant to the following: |
9-49 |
      (1) In those races in which a single candidate is elected a candidate who trails the |
9-50 |
winning candidate may request a recount of the votes cast at each precinct by a manual re-feeding |
9-51 |
of the computer ballots cast in said race into the optical scan voting equipment provided that the |
9-52 |
candidate shall trail the winning candidate by less than the following number of votes: |
9-53 |
      (a) In those races where the number of votes cast is less than or equal to twenty thousand |
9-54 |
(20,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by two percent |
9-55 |
(2%) or two hundred (200) votes, whichever is less; in those races where the number of votes cast |
9-56 |
is between twenty thousand one (20,001) and one hundred thousand (100,000) the candidate |
9-57 |
requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one percent (1%) or five hundred (500) |
9-58 |
votes, whichever is less; and, in those races where more than one hundred thousand (100,000) |
9-59 |
votes are cast the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one-half of |
9-60 |
one percent (1/2%) or one thousand five hundred (1,500) votes, whichever is less. |
9-61 |
      (b) For the purpose of determining recount eligibility, as prescribed in subsections (1)(a) |
9-62 |
and (3) of this section, the number of votes cast in a race shall include the votes cast for |
9-63 |
candidates and irregular ballots cast pursuant to section 17-19-31. |
9-64 |
      (2) In those races in which more than one candidate is elected a candidate who trails the |
9-65 |
winning candidate may request a recount of the votes cast at each precinct by a manual re-feeding |
9-66 |
of the computer ballots cast in said race into the optical scan voting equipment provided that the |
9-67 |
candidate shall trail the winning candidate by less than the following number of votes: |
10-68 |
      (a) In those races where the number of votes cast is less than or equal to five thousand |
10-69 |
(5,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by two percent (2%) |
10-70 |
or fifty (50) votes, whichever is less; in those races where the number of votes cast is between |
10-71 |
five thousand one (5,001) and twenty thousand (20,000) the candidate requesting the recount |
10-72 |
shall trail the winning candidate by one percent (1%) or one hundred (100) votes, whichever is |
10-73 |
less; and in those races where more than twenty thousand (20,000) votes are cast the candidate |
10-74 |
requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one-half of one percent (1/2%) or one |
10-75 |
hundred fifty (150) votes, whichever is less. |
10-76 |
      (b) For the purpose of determining recount eligibility, as prescribed in subsections (2)(a) |
10-77 |
and (3) of this section, the total number of votes cast in a race shall be determined by dividing the |
10-78 |
total number of votes eligible to be cast in the race by the number of candidates for whom each |
10-79 |
voter was eligible to cast votes. |
10-80 |
      (3) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (1)(a) and (2)(a) of this section, a |
10-81 |
candidate who trails the winning candidate by five percent (5%) or less, but more than the |
10-82 |
minimum percentage or number of votes as required in subsections (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section, |
10-83 |
as applicable, may petition the state board to conduct a recount of the votes cast at each precinct |
10-84 |
by re-reading the programmed memory device or devices and comparing the results and totals |
10-85 |
obtained at such recount with the results and totals obtained on election night. If, after said |
10-86 |
recount, a candidate shall trail the winning candidate by less than the number of votes prescribed |
10-87 |
in subsection (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section, as the case may be, the candidate may request a |
10-88 |
recount of the votes cast at each precinct to subsection (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section, as is |
10-89 |
applicable. |
10-90 |
     (4) Marked ballots, including those returned by the optical scan machine as programmed |
10-91 |
in accordance with this section, shall be available for inspection and copying by any person, |
10-92 |
subject to reasonable security procedures. |
10-93 |
     (5) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to bar or prevent the manual recount of |
10-94 |
ballots upon request of an individual eligible to request a vote recount pursuant to this section. |
10-95 |
     The state board shall have the authority to adopt rules and regulations to implement and |
10-96 |
administer the provisions of this section. |
10-97 |
     17-19-39.1. Voted ballot storage and security. -- Voted computer ballots that were |
10-98 |
counted at the state board shall be stored in containers by the state board until the expiration of |
10-99 |
twenty-two (22) months from the date of election and the final result of any disputed results in |
10-100 |
that election and voted computer ballots that were voted and packaged at a local precinct or |
10-101 |
counted at the local board shall be held and stored in containers by the local board in accordance |
10-102 |
with the regulations promulgated by the state board until the expiration of twenty-two (22) |
11-1 |
months from the date of election and the final result of any disputed results in that office. The |
11-2 |
voted ballots shall remain stored in the appropriate containers, but shall be available for |
11-3 |
inspection and copying by any person subject to reasonable security procedures |
11-4 |
|
11-5 |
information and candidate totals shall be transferred to a disk and retained permanently. |
11-6 |
      Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, the state board shall have the authority |
11-7 |
to examine and inspect the voted ballots subsequent to the certification of an election and the final |
11-8 |
resolution of any disputed results in that election. |
11-9 |
     17-19-43. Tampering with sample ballot. -- Every person who willfully and without |
11-10 |
lawful authority and the final resolution of any disputed destroys, secretes, removes, defaces, |
11-11 |
alters, tampers, or meddles with a sample ballot posted at the polling place, shall be guilty of a |
11-12 |
felony. |
11-13 |
     17-19-49. Political literature and influence. -- No poster, paper, circular, or other |
11-14 |
document designed or tending to aid, injure, or defeat any candidate for public office or any |
11-15 |
political party on any question submitted to the voters shall be distributed or displayed within the |
11-16 |
voting place or within fifty (50) feet of the entrance or entrances to the building in which voting is |
11-17 |
conducted at any primary or election. |
11-18 |
voter in the process of casting his or her own vote may display on his or her person within the |
11-19 |
voting place any political party button, badge, or other |
11-20 |
aid, injure, or defeat the candidacy of any person for public office or any question submitted to |
11-21 |
the voters or to intimidate or influence the voters. |
11-22 |
     SECTION 2. Chapter 17-19 of the General Laws entitled "Conduct of Election and |
11-23 |
Voting Equipment, and Supplies" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
11-24 |
     17-19-37.4. Irregularities not impairing validity of ballots. -- (a) No ballot returned by |
11-25 |
the optical scan machine pursuant to a recount under sections 37.1 through 37.3 of this chapter |
11-26 |
shall be rejected for any immaterial addition, omission, or irregularity in the preparation or |
11-27 |
execution of the computer ballot. No ballot shall be invalid by reason of mistake or omission in |
11-28 |
writing in the name of any candidate where the candidate intended by the voter is plainly |
11-29 |
identifiable. Where, because of any defect in marking, a ballot is held invalid as to any particular |
11-30 |
candidate for office, it shall remain valid as to the candidates for other offices. No defect in the |
11-31 |
marking of the appropriate space associated with casting a vote shall invalidate any ballot or a |
11-32 |
vote for any candidate, where the intention of the voter is clearly indicated. |
11-33 |
     SECTION 3. Section 17-22-5.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-22 entitled |
11-34 |
"Tabulation and Certification of Returns by State Board" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
12-1 |
     17-22-5.2. Certificates of local elections -- Statement to secretary of state. -- The local |
12-2 |
board shall immediately, after the result has been ascertained, furnish to the secretary of state a |
12-3 |
statement of the number of votes cast in the city or town for each candidate, the total number of |
12-4 |
votes cast in the city or town for and against any proposed amendment to a charter or question, |
12-5 |
and the names of the respective candidates elected and the offices to which they have been |
12-6 |
respectively elected. |
12-7 |
     Nothing contained herein shall be construed to affect the certification provisions |
12-8 |
established by section 17-19-36. |
12-9 |
     SECTION 4. Section 17-18-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-18 entitled "Elective |
12-10 |
Meetings" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
12-11 |
     17-18-11. Time of closing of polls. -- Elective meetings in all cities and towns shall be |
12-12 |
continuously kept open for voting until 8 p.m.; provided, that any qualified voter who is |
12-13 |
|
12-14 |
waiting in line to vote at 8 p.m. shall be entitled to cast his or her vote. When all persons entitled |
12-15 |
to vote have been afforded a reasonable opportunity to do so, the polls shall be closed. |
12-16 |
     SECTION 5. Section 42-35-18 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-35 entitled |
12-17 |
"Administrative Procedures" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
12-18 |
     42-35-18. Effective date of chapter -- Scope of application and exemptions. -- (a) This |
12-19 |
chapter shall take effect upon January 1, 1964, and thereupon all acts and parts of acts |
12-20 |
inconsistent herewith shall stand repealed; provided, however, that except as to proceedings |
12-21 |
pending on June 30, 1963, this chapter shall apply to all agencies and agency proceedings not |
12-22 |
expressly exempted. |
12-23 |
      (b) None of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the following sections and |
12-24 |
chapters: |
12-25 |
      (1) Section 16-32-10 (University of Rhode Island); |
12-26 |
      (2) Chapter 41 of title 16 (New England Higher Education Compact); |
12-27 |
      (3) Section 16-33-6 (Rhode Island College); |
12-28 |
      (4) Chapter 16 of title 23 (Health Facilities Construction Act); |
12-29 |
      (5) Chapter 8 of title 20 (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact); |
12-30 |
      (6) Chapter 38 of title 28 (Dr. John E. Donley Rehabilitation Center); |
12-31 |
      (7) |
12-32 |
Elections); |
12-33 |
      (8) Chapter 16 of title 8 (Judicial Tenure and Discipline); |
13-34 |
      (9) Chapter 61 of title 42 (State Lottery); |
13-35 |
      (10) Chapter 24.4 of title 45 (Special Development Districts); |
13-36 |
      (11) Chapter 12 of title 35 (The University of Rhode Island Research Corporation). |
13-37 |
      (c) The provisions of sections 42-35-9, 42-35-10, 42-35-11, 42-35-12 and 42-35-13 shall |
13-38 |
not apply to: |
13-39 |
      (1) Any and all acts, decisions, findings, or determinations by the board of review of the |
13-40 |
department of labor and training or the director of the department of labor and training or his, her, |
13-41 |
its or their duly authorized agents and to any and all procedures or hearings before and by the |
13-42 |
director or board of review of the department of labor and training or his or her agents under the |
13-43 |
provisions of chapters 39 -- 44 of title 28. |
13-44 |
      (2) Section 28-5-17 (Conciliation of charges of unlawful practices). |
13-45 |
      (3) Chapter 8 of title 13 (Parole). |
13-46 |
      (4) Any and all acts, decisions, findings or determinations by the administrator of the |
13-47 |
division of motor vehicles or his or her duly authorized agent and to any and all procedures or |
13-48 |
hearings before and by said administrator or his or her said agent under the provisions of chapters |
13-49 |
10, 11, 31 to 33, inclusive, of title 31. |
13-50 |
      (5) Procedures of the board of examiners of hoisting engineers under chapter 26 of title |
13-51 |
28. |
13-52 |
      (6) Any and all acts, decisions, findings, or determinations made under authority from |
13-53 |
the provisions of chapters 29 -- 38 of title 28, concerning workers' compensation administration, |
13-54 |
procedure and benefits. |
13-55 |
     SECTION 6. Chapter 17-19 of the General Laws entitled "Conduct of Election and |
13-56 |
Voting Equipment, and Supplies" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
13-57 |
     17-19-37.4. Risk-limiting audit pilot program. -- (a) The board of elections shall |
13-58 |
establish a risk-limiting audit pilot program in five (5) or more cities and towns to improve the |
13-59 |
accuracy of, and public confidence in, election results. The board is encouraged to include urban |
13-60 |
and rural cities and towns. |
13-61 |
     (b) The pilot program shall be conducted as follows: |
13-62 |
     (1) During the year 2014, each city or town that participates in the pilot program shall |
13-63 |
conduct a risk-limiting audit of one or more contests after each election in that jurisdiction. |
13-64 |
     (2) A local canvassing authority conducting an audit pursuant to this section shall do all |
13-65 |
of the following: |
13-66 |
     (i) Provide at least a five (5) day public notice of the time and place of the random |
13-67 |
selection of the audit units to be manually tallied and of the time and place of the audit; |
14-68 |
     (ii) Make available to the public a report of the optical scan voting system results for the |
14-69 |
contest, including the results for each audit unit in the contest, prior to the random selection of |
14-70 |
audit units to be manually tallied and prior to the commencement of the audit; |
14-71 |
     (iii) Conduct the audit upon tabulation of the town election results as provided in section |
14-72 |
17-19-36 and complete the audit within seven (7) days after the election; and |
14-73 |
     (iv) Conduct the audit in public view by hand. |
14-74 |
     (3) On or before April 1, 2015, the state board of elections shall report to the general |
14-75 |
assembly on the effectiveness and efficiency of risk-limiting audits conducted pursuant to this |
14-76 |
section. The report shall include an analysis of the efficiency of risk-limiting audits, including the |
14-77 |
costs of performing the audits. |
14-78 |
     (4) An audit shall not be conducted pursuant to this section with respect to a state or |
14-79 |
multijurisdictional contest unless all of the cities and towns involved in the contest choose to |
14-80 |
participate in the pilot program authorized by this section. |
14-81 |
     (c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: |
14-82 |
     (1) "Audit unit" means a precinct, a set of ballots, or a single ballot. A precinct, a set of |
14-83 |
ballots, or a single ballot may be used as an audit unit for purposes of this section only if all of the |
14-84 |
following conditions are satisfied: |
14-85 |
     (i) The relevant optical scan tabulating device is able to produce a report of the votes cast |
14-86 |
in the precinct, set of ballots, or single ballot. |
14-87 |
     (ii) The elections official is able to match the report described in paragraph (i) with the |
14-88 |
ballots corresponding to the report for purposes of conducting an audit pursuant to this section. |
14-89 |
     (iii) Each ballot is assigned to not more than one audit unit. |
14-90 |
     (2) "Contest" means an election for an office or upon a ballot question. |
14-91 |
     (3) "Risk-limiting audit" means a manual tally of cast ballots employing a statistical |
14-92 |
method that ensures a large, predetermined minimum chance of requiring a full manual tally |
14-93 |
whenever a full manual tally would show an electoral outcome that differs from the outcome |
14-94 |
reported by the vote tabulating device for the audited contest. A risk-limiting audit shall begin |
14-95 |
with a hand tally of the votes in one or more audit units and shall continue to hand tally votes in |
14-96 |
additional audit units until there is strong statistical evidence that the electoral outcome is correct. |
14-97 |
In the event that counting additional audit units does not provide strong statistical evidence that |
14-98 |
the electoral outcome is correct, the audit shall continue until there has been a full manual tally to |
14-99 |
determine the correct electoral outcome of the audited contest. |
      | |
14-101 |
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
      | |
======= | |
LC01599 | |
======== | |
EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS | |
*** | |
16-1 |
     This act would make extensive changes to the elections laws, including the definition of |
16-2 |
what a vote is, and would allow a voter to take or use election paraphernalia into a polling place. |
16-3 |
It would also make the board of elections subject to the Administrative Procedures Act. |
16-4 |
     This act would take effect upon passage. |
      | |
======= | |
LC01599 | |
======= |