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:

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

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Elections" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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a primary official at that primary.

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

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

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of this section.

 

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

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

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read as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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inactive list of voters shall not be included.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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prepared and sealed for the election.

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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 - PRIMARY AND CONDUCT OF ELECTION

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

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

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

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

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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