2016 -- S 2513

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LC003757

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- REGISTRATION OF VOTERS

     Introduced By: Senators Goldin, Lynch Prata, Conley, Lombardi, and Walaska

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2016

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     (Secretary of State)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 17-9.1-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-9.1 entitled

"Registration of Voters" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     17-9.1-10. Additional method of registering. -- (a) In addition to the methods for

registering to vote provided in §§ 17-9.1-7, 17-9.1-8, and 17-9.1-9, and 17-9.1-34, whenever any

person who is or may be by the next election qualified to vote desires to register, that person may

appear before the local board of the city or town in which he or she has his or her residence, as

defined in § 17-1-3.1, or before the clerk or other duly authorized agent of the board, or before a

registrar appointed by the state board of elections, and shall furnish the information required of

him or her by this chapter and any information described in §§ 17-9.1-23 and 17-9.1-24 that the

registrant may wish to record, and after the information has been recorded on the registry card

furnished for that purpose, the person shall sign his or her name and certify to the truth of the

facts recorded in the appropriate spaces in the card; provided, whenever any person is unable to

sign his or her name because of physical incapacity or otherwise, he or she shall make his mark

"(X)", which shall be witnessed by the person receiving the registration.

      (b) It shall be the duty of the local board or clerk or other duly authorized agent of the

board or registrar of the state board of elections to inform the person registering to vote that the

voter will be mailed an acknowledgement card advising the person of the disposition of the

registration and in the process verifying that the person resides at the address provided on the

registration form. The person shall also be advised that if the acknowledgement card is returned

as undeliverable, the person will be placed on the inactive list of voters pending the results of the

confirmation process described in § 17-9.1-26. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed

to entitle a person to vote whose registration form has not been filed with the local board at least

thirty (30) days before an election.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 17-9.1 of the General Laws entitled "Registration of Voters" is

hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     17-9.1-34. Electronic registration of voters. -- (a) The secretary of state shall establish

and maintain a portal for electronic voter registration. An applicant may use such portal to

register to vote, or to update existing voter registration information, provided:

     (1) The applicant's information is verifiable in the manner described in subsection (b) of

this section;

     (2) The applicant's signature is in a database described in subsection (b) of this section;

and

     (3) Such signature may be imported into such system for electronic voter registration.

     (b) Upon request of the secretary of state, a state agency, quasi-public agency or

municipality shall provide information to the secretary of state that the secretary of state deems

necessary to maintain the system for electronic voter registration, and the information so obtained

shall be used for no other purpose. The secretary of state shall verify applicant information by

cross-referencing information submitted by applicants with data or information contained in any

state agency's, quasi-public agency's or municipality's database or a database administered by the

federal government, or any voter registration database of another state. The secretary of state shall

not use the information obtained from any such databases except to verify information submitted

by the applicant. The applicant's signature, if part of the data contained in the state agency's,

quasi-public agency's or municipality's database, shall be included as part of the applicant's

information contained in the system for electronic voter registration. No information viewed or

received by the secretary of state pursuant to this subsection may be transferred to, shared with or

otherwise conveyed to any other governmental or non-governmental entity for any reason except

for voter registration purposes or pursuant to a court order.

     (c) The submission of an electronic application shall contain all of the information that is

required for an application under §17-9.1-9, with the exception of the signature which shall be

obtained from another state agency, quasi-public agency, or municipality's database pursuant to

subsection (b) of this section.

     (d) An applicant using the system shall mark the box associated with the following

statement included as part of the electronic application:

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     "By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of the following under penalty of

perjury:

     (1) I am the person whose name and identifying information is provided on this form, and

I desire to register to vote or update my voter registration information in the state of Rhode

Island.

     (2) All of the information I have provided on this form is true and correct as of the date I

am submitting this form.

     (3) I authorize a Rhode Island state agency, quasi-public agency, or municipality to

transmit, for voter registration purposes, to the secretary of state and my city's/town's board of

canvassers, my signature that is on file with such state agency, quasi-public agency or

municipality. I understand that the secretary of state and my city's/town's board of canvassers will

use such signature on this electronic voter registration application as if I had signed this form

personally."

     (e) Upon approval of such application, the boards of canvassers shall send a confirmation

notice to the applicant.

     (f) The secretary of state may enter into an agreement and exchange information or data

with any other state exclusively for the purposes of updating the statewide central voter register

and registering voters, provided such activities are performed under the supervision of the

secretary of state and the secretary of state enters into an agreement to protect the confidentiality

of such information or data. A Rhode Island state agency shall provide the secretary of state with

information or data to be used exclusively for voter registration purposes and shall advise the

secretary of state if such information or data is held confidential. The secretary of state shall not

use or transmit the information or data for any purpose except for voter registration purposes or

pursuant to a court order.

     (g) To ensure full, equal and independent access to all voters with disabilities, any

Internet site and voter registration form created to register voters electronically or allow voters to

update their voter registration shall comply with all requirements under Title II of the Americans

with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§12131-12165, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

(WCAG) 2.0 compliance level AA. Experts concerning disability and usability access to websites

shall be included in the development of any voter registration website and voter registration form,

and shall verify accessibility and usability before the website, or an updated version of the

website, is made available to the general public.

     (h) The website and form shall be available in any language required by federal or state

voting rights laws.

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     SECTION 3. 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 -- REGISTRATION OF VOTERS

***

     This act would require the secretary of state to establish a system for the electronic

registration of voters. The act would limit the use or transfer of the information supplied by the

voter in registering.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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