2023 -- H 6204

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LC002648

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- PRIMARIES FOR ELECTION OF DELEGATES TO

NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND FOR PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE

     Introduced By: Representatives Perez, Hull, Corvese, Fenton-Fung, Cardillo, Batista,
Bennett, Fellela, Azzinaro, and Diaz

     Date Introduced: March 24, 2023

     Referred To: House State Government & Elections

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 17-12.1-3, 17-12.1-4 and 17-12.1-6 of the General Laws in Chapter

17-12.1 entitled "Primaries for Election of Delegates to National Conventions and for Presidential

Preference" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     17-12.1-3. Declaration of candidacy — Delegates.

     During the sixty-first (61st) seventieth (70th) and sixty-second (62nd) seventy-first (71st)

day preceding a primary for election of delegates to a national convention, each voter desiring to

be a delegate at the forthcoming convention shall, on the form that shall be provided by the secretary

of state, sign his or her name as it appears on the voting list and file, not later than four (4:00) p.m.

of the date of filing with the secretary of state, a declaration of candidacy which shall include the

following information:

     (1) His or her name and address as they appear on the voting list, party designation, place

and date of birth, and length of residence in the state and in the town or city where he or she resides.

     (2) A statement that, if elected, he or she would comply with all party rules of the national

committee of the party designated in subdivision (1) of this section relating to delegates to national

conventions and conducting of national conventions.

     (3) At the same time as the declaration of candidacy is filed, the appropriate pledge of

support form provided to the secretary of state by the political parties must be filed by the candidate

for delegate.

     (4) If any candidate for delegate does not thereafter wish his or her name to appear on the

ballot, the candidate shall, at least forty-nine (49) days prior to the date for the primary, file an

affidavit with the secretary of state stating his or her name may not be placed on the ballot and the

secretary of state shall not place that candidate’s name on the ballot.

     17-12.1-4. Presidential candidates.

     (a) Any person seeking the endorsement of a national political party for which a primary

is being held shall, during the ninety-fourth (94th) through and including the ninety-sixth (96th)

day preceding the presidential preference primary being held, provide written notification to the

secretary of state of his or her intention to run in the presidential preference primary. When the

deadline falls on a Saturday, said written notification may be filed with the secretary of state on

that Saturday until noon (12:00) p.m. The notification shall include the candidate’s name and

address and a statement affirming their eligibility, under the laws and Constitution of the United

States, to serve, if elected, in the office of President of the United States. The notification shall also

include the name and contact information of the designee authorized by the presidential candidate

to act in his/her stead in Rhode Island.

     (b)(1) Upon receipt of the notification referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the

secretary of state shall, by six o’clock (6:00) p.m. on the same day, prepare petition papers for

candidates who are eligible to serve in the office of President of the United States, clearly marked

with the candidate’s name, party designation, and the office the candidate seeks; provided,

however, that for notifications filed on a Saturday deadline by noon (12:00) p.m., petition papers

shall be prepared by two o’clock (2:00) p.m. on that Saturday.

     (2) The petition papers of a candidate for president shall be signed, in the aggregate, by at

least one thousand (1,000) two hundred fifty (250) eligible voters and shall be submitted on or

before four o’clock (4:00) p.m. in the afternoon of the eighty-second (82nd) day before the

presidential preference primary to the local board of the city or town where the signers appear to

be voters, and the petition papers shall be checked, processed, and certified to the secretary of state

by the local boards before four o’clock (4:00) p.m. in the afternoon of the sixty-ninth (69th)

seventy-fifth (75th) day before the presidential preference primary. When nomination papers have

been duly certified by the appropriate local boards of canvassers, they shall be conclusively

presumed to be valid, unless written objections to them are made as to the eligibility of the candidate

or the sufficiency of the nomination papers or the signatures on them. All objections shall be filed

with the state board of elections by four o’clock (4:00) p.m. on the next business day after the last

day fixed for local boards to file nomination papers with the secretary of state. Nothing in this

section shall be construed to prevent the secretary of state from disqualifying a candidate based on

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the determination of the secretary of state that the nomination papers or the signatures on them are

invalid or insufficient.

     (c) The decision of the state board shall be rendered not later than four o’clock (4:00) p.m.

on the sixty-third (63rd) day before the presidential preference primary and shall immediately be

certified by the state board to the secretary of state.

     (d) If any candidate for presidential nomination does not qualify for ballot placement, the

names of delegates committed to this disqualified presidential candidate, who are otherwise

qualified, shall appear on the ballot in accordance with party rules.

     (e) If any candidate whose name has been announced as a presidential nominee does not

thereafter wish his or her name to appear on the ballot, the candidate shall, at least sixty-three (63)

days prior to the date for the primary, file an affidavit with the secretary of state stating his or her

name may not be placed on the ballot and the secretary of state shall not place that candidate’s

name on the ballot. Said affidavit must be signed by the presidential candidate or his or her designee

on file with the office of the secretary of state. Names of delegates committed to the withdrawn

candidate, who are otherwise qualified, shall appear on the ballot in accordance with party rules.

     17-12.1-6. Number of signers required.

     The nomination papers of a candidate for delegate to a national convention shall be signed,

in the aggregate, by at least one hundred fifty (150) twenty-five (25) eligible voters.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC002648

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- PRIMARIES FOR ELECTION OF DELEGATES TO

NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND FOR PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE

***

     This act would increase from four (4) days to fourteen (14) days the time presidential

delegates have to obtain nomination signatures. It would also decrease from one thousand (1,000)

to two hundred fifty (250) signatures the number of signatures necessary for a presidential

candidate to secure a place on the ballot. It would change the number of days local canvassers

boards have to certify nomination papers, from sixty-nine (69) days to seventy-five (75) days before

the presidential preference primary. Finally, it would reduce the number of voter signatures

necessary for a candidate to qualify to be a delegate to a national convention, from one hundred

fifty (150) to twenty-five (25).

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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