2013 -- S 0446

=======

LC01755

=======

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

____________

A N A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- MAIL BALLOTS

     Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Lynch, and Lombardo

     Date Introduced: February 28, 2013

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

1-1

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

1-2

Ballots" is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-3

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

1-4

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

1-5

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

1-6

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

1-7

certifying envelope;

1-8

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

1-9

certify the mail ballots.

1-10

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

1-11

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

1-12

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

1-13

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

1-14

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

1-15

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

1-16

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

1-17

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

1-18

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

1-19

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

1-20

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

2-1

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

2-2

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

2-3

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

2-4

newscasting agencies and any other persons that it deems proper.

2-5

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

2-6

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

2-7

accordingly; and

2-8

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

2-9

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

2-10

identical.

2-11

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

2-12

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

2-13

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

2-14

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

2-15

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

2-16

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

2-17

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

2-18

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

2-19

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

2-20

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

2-21

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

2-22

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

2-23

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

2-24

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

2-25

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

2-26

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

2-27

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

2-28

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

2-29

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

2-30

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

2-31

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

2-32

in open town or district meetings.

2-33

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

2-34

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

3-1

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

3-2

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

3-3

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

3-4

mail ballots are counted by the state board.

3-5

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

3-6

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

3-7

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

3-8

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

3-9

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

3-10

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

=======

LC01755

========

EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- MAIL BALLOTS

***

4-1

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

4-2

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

4-3

discarding of the mail ballot envelopes.

4-4

     This act would take effect upon passage.

=======

LC01755

=======