SECTION 1. Section 17-11-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-11 entitled "Voting Districts and Officials" is hereby amended to read as follows:

17-11-1. Division of towns and representative district into voting districts. -- The local board of any city or town may, on or before the sixtieth (60th) day preceding any election, divide or redivide the town, or any representative district in the city or town, into voting districts. The local board of each city shall determine voting districts by geographical boundaries and by no other means. No voting district shall at any time comprise parts of two (2) or more wards. It shall be the duty of the board to divide the town, representative district, or ward, as the case may be, so that substantially not more than sixteen hundred (1,600) nineteen hundred (1900) voters shall be served by the same polling place; provided, subject to the approval of the state board, a local board may provide for serving more than sixteen hundred (1,600) nineteen hundred (1900) voters in the same polling place where the effect to the contrary would be of creating a polling place serving less than one hundred fifty (150) voters. A polling place may be located either within or without the voting district for which it is established, provided that a polling place may be located outside the district only upon unanimous determination of the local board and subject to the approval of the state board that a suitable place is not available within the voting district. In making the calculation required by this section, voters whose names are on the inactive list of voters shall not be included.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2002.