2016 -- S 2633

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LC005164

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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 - PRIMARY AND CONDUCT OF ELECTION

     Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Lombardi, Lynch Prata, Metts, and Conley

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2016

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     (Board of Elections)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 17-15-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-15 entitled "Primary

Elections" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     17-15-14. Qualifications of primary officials -- Affidavit. -- (a) Each warden or

moderator and each primary supervisor appointed under the provisions of §§ 17-15-13 and 17-15-

16 shall be able to read the Constitution of the state in the English language, and to write his or

her name, and shall, whenever possible, be a voter of the senatorial district, representative district,

or town, ward, or voting district from which he or she is appointed.

      (b) No person shall be appointed to serve as a primary official who has been convicted,

found guilty, pleaded guilty or nolo contendere, or placed on a deferred or suspended sentence or

on probation for any crime which involved moral turpitude or a violation of any of the election,

caucus, or primary laws of this or any other state.

      (c) No person shall be appointed to serve as a primary official who is an officer or

employee of the United States, of this state, or of any city or town of this state, but no person

shall be disqualified solely because that person is a notary public or a teacher.

      (d) No person who is seeking nomination or election at any primary election shall act as

a primary official at that primary.

      (e) Every primary official shall make an affidavit before the proper local board or some

member of the board to the effect that that official is not disqualified by reason of the provisions

of this section.

     SECTION 2. Sections 17-19-4, 17-19-12 and 17-19-13 of the General Laws in Chapter

17-19 entitled "Conduct of Election and Voting Equipment, and Supplies" are hereby amended to

read as follows:

     17-19-4. Voting booths and optical scan precinct count units -- Number to be

furnished. -- (a) For each voting district and for each town not divided into voting districts, an

optical scan precinct count unit shall be prepared and delivered by the state board or its designee.

      (b) At each voting place, both in cities and in towns, one voting booth shall be furnished

for every one hundred seventy-five (175) qualified electors, whose names are upon the voting list

used at the voting place and entitled to use the machines, as certified to the state board based on

the voting list certified as a result of the final canvass the number of polling place units and

voting booths must be sufficient to permit the orderly conduct of the election.

      (c) In making the calculation required by this section, voters whose names are on the

inactive list of voters shall not be included.

     17-19-12. Delivery of election supplies. -- All printed matter, stationery, and supplies

required to be furnished by this chapter shall be delivered to or picked up by the proper officer as

determined by the state board not later than three (3) days 4:00 p.m. the day before the election

for which they are to be used. Computer ballots to be used at each polling place, ballot transfer

cases, marking pens, secrecy sleeves and any other items related to the voting equipment shall be

packaged by the state board and shall be picked up by the local canvassing authority delivered to

or picked up by the proper office as determined by the state board.

     17-19-13. Exhibition of machines for instructional purposes. -- The local board shall

may designate suitable and adequate times and places where optical scan voting equipment and

sample ballots showing titles of offices to be filled and, so far as practicable, the names of

candidates to be voted for at the next election shall be exhibited for the purpose of giving

instructions as to the manner of casting a vote to all voters who apply. No optical scan precinct

count unit that is to be used in an election shall be used for the instruction after it has been

prepared and sealed for the election.

     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 - PRIMARY AND CONDUCT OF ELECTION

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     This act would permit the hiring of government workers to act as poll workers for

primary elections. It also grants the board of elections flexibility in determining the number of

polling place units, voting booths, and whether to send tabulating voting equipment to each of the

thirty-nine (39) regional sites across the state, due to the new voting equipment.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC005164

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