Chapter
472
2004 -- H 7891
Enacted 07/07/04
A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS --
CONDUCT OF ELECTION AND VOTING EQUIPMENT,
AND SUPPLIES
Introduced By:
Representatives Lima, Giannini, E Coderre, Handy, and Wasylyk
Date
Introduced: February 12, 2004
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 17-19-1 and 17-19-24 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-19
entitled "Conduct of Election
and Voting Equipment, and Supplies" are hereby amended to read
as follows:
17-19-1.
Definitions. -- As used in this chapter, except as otherwise required
by the
context:
(1)
"Computer ballot" means the paper ballot prepared by the office of
the secretary of
state for use in conjunction with the
optical scan precinct count system;
(2)
"Voting equipment" means an optical scan precinct count voting
system, related
memory device, all related hardware
and software, and voting booths; and
(3)
"Warden" includes moderator; and vice versa.; and
(4)
A "Vote" shall be any mark made with the appropriate marking device
within the
optech ballot voting area
between the head and tail of the arrow on the computer ballot next to the
party, candidate, write-in
candidate or question, as is applicable, for whom the voter casts his or
her ballot, except as provided
in section 17-20-24.
17-19-24.
Procedure for voting. -- (a) Each person desiring to vote shall state
his or her
name and residence, including that person's
street address, if he or she has any, to one of the first
pair of bi-partisan supervisors,
who shall then announce the name and residence in a loud and
distinct voice, clear and audible.
As each voter's name is announced, the voter shall be handed a
ballot application in the following
form:
BALLOT
APPLICATION
(Poll
List)
Senatorial
District __________
Representative District ______
Voting
District ____________
Election
Date ________________
I
hereby certify that I am a registered and qualified elector in the
above
voting district of
City
of
and
hereby make application for ballots to be voted at this election.
____________________________
(Signature of Voter)
____________________________
(Residence Address) Number
Approved
__________________
(Supervisor of Election)
(b)
The voter shall sign the application in the presence and view of a bipartisan
pair. They
shall locate the voter's name on
the certified voting list for the voting district. Upon finding the
voter's name on the certified
voting list for the district, they shall initial the ballot application in
the place provided next to the word
"Approved" and shall enter on the certified list of voters a
proper notation that the applicant
has voted in the election. They shall then return the ballot
application to the voter who shall
pass down the line and present it to the clerk. After the voter
has handed the approved ballot
application to the clerk, the clerk shall provide the voter with the
appropriate computer ballot and
security sleeve, the warden shall direct the voter to the voting
booth which the voter shall use,
and unless the voter needs instruction or assistance as provided in
this chapter, the voter shall cast
his or her vote, and if he or she desires place the voted computer
ballot in a security sleeve, and
shall proceed to the optical scan precinct count unit and shall
personally place his or her voted
ballot into the designated ballot slot on the unit, and after doing
so, shall leave the enclosure at
once. No voter shall remain within the voting booth longer than
ten (10) minutes, and if the voter
refuses to leave after the lapse of ten (10) minutes, the voter
shall be removed from the voting
booth by order of the warden. Except for the election officials
and the election inspector, not
more than two (2) voters in excess of the number of voting booths
shall be permitted within the
enclosed space at any time. (c) The optical scan precinct count unit
shall be programmed to return a
ballot to the voter if the voter has cast votes for more persons
than which he or she is entitled to
cast. The warden, by reading the message given on the optical
scan precinct count unit, must
advise the voter of the fact that the ballot has been over-voted. The
voter will be instructed by the
warden to remove his or her own ballot from the optical scan
precinct count unit ballot slot.
The warden will then ask the voter to surrender the ballot as void
and receive a new ballot. If the
voter agrees, the voter will make additional marks on the ballot so
as not to identify the actual votes
intended by the voter for the ballot. The ballot will be marked
void by the warden and deposited in
the receptacle for void ballots provided at the polling place.
If the voter insists on casting the
over-voted ballot, he or she will be advised that all races, other
than the over-voted race, will be
counted by the optical scan precinct count unit, and if he or she
still insists, the warden will
manually override the appropriate control on the unit and allow for
the ballot to be entered and
counted for all races other than the over-voted race. (d) In the event a
voter incorrectly marks a ballot by
indicating his or her choices other than in the spaces provided
for them, the ballot will be
returned to the voter. The warden, by reading the message given on
the optical scan precinct count
unit, must advise the voter of the fact that the ballot has been
marked incorrectly. The voter will
be instructed by the warden to remove his or her own ballot
from the optical scan precinct unit
ballot slot. The warden will then advise the voter to surrender
the ballot as void and receive a
new ballot. If the voter agrees, the voter will make additional
marks on the ballot so as not to
identify the actual votes intended by the voter for the ballot. The
ballot will be marked void by the
warden and deposited in the receptacle for void ballots provided
at the polling place. The warden
will then provide for the instruction of the voter on the correct
manner of marking his or her vote
and the voter will be issued a new ballot. If the voter insists on
casting the incorrectly marked
ballot, the warden will place the ballot in a special envelope
marked "For Manual
Count" to be packaged and delivered to the local board of canvassers, who
will manually count the ballot
after the close of the polls. At the close of the polls, the envelope
shall be sealed and signed by the
warden and the clerk. manually
override the appropriate control
on the optical scan precinct
count unit and allow for the ballot to be accepted.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02527
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