| Chapter 057 |
| 2022 -- H 7428 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 06/07/2022 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- MAIL BALLOTS |
Introduced By: Representatives Shanley, Noret, Amore, Craven, Batista, and Tanzi |
| Date Introduced: February 09, 2022 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Sections 17-20-10 and 17-20-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-20 |
| entitled "Mail Ballots" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 17-20-10. Certification of applications -- Issuance of ballots -- Marking of lists -- |
| Mailing address. |
| (a) Upon receipt of the application, the local board shall immediately examine it and |
| determine whether it complies with each of the requirements set forth by this chapter and compare |
| the signature on the ballot application with the signature contained on the original registration card |
| or on the central voter registration system, except as may be otherwise provided by law, to satisfy |
| itself that the applicant is a qualified voter. Upon determining that it does meet each requirement |
| of this chapter and that the signature appears to be the same, the local board shall mark the |
| application "accepted" and record in the space provided on the ballot application the senatorial, |
| representative, and voting district in which the applicant should vote. |
| (b) The local board shall also record the city or town code and district information in the |
| mailing label section of the mail ballot application. The local board shall also print or type the name |
| of the elector and the complete mailing address in that section. If the local board does not accept |
| the application, the local board shall return the application to the elector, together with a form |
| prescribed by the secretary of state, specifying the reason or reasons for the return of the application. |
| (c) Not later than 4:00 p.m. on the eighteenth (18th) day before the day of any election |
| referred to in this chapter or within seven (7) days of receipt by the local board, whichever occurs |
| first, the local board shall certify the applications to the secretary of state through the CVRS system |
| central voter registration system as this procedure is prescribed by the secretary of state. Upon the |
| certification of a mail ballot application to the secretary of state, the local board shall enter on the |
| voting list the fact that a mail ballot application for the voter has been certified and shall cause the |
| delivery of the certified mail ballot applications together with the signed certified listing thereof in |
| sealed packages to the state board of elections. |
| (d)(1) Upon the ballots becoming available, the secretary of state shall immediately issue |
| and mail, by first-class mail, postage prepaid, a mail ballot to each eligible voter who has been |
| certified. With respect to voters who have applied for these mail ballots under the provisions of § |
| 17-20-2(1), the secretary of state shall include with the mail ballots a stamped, return envelope |
| addressed to the board of elections. |
| (2) The secretary of state shall include on the mail ballot envelope a numerical or |
| alphabetical code designating the city or town where the voter resides. The secretary of state shall |
| immediately thereafter indicate on the voter's record that the secretary of state has sent mail ballots; |
| provided that this mark shall serve solely to indicate that a mail ballot has been issued and shall not |
| be construed as voting in the election. |
| (e) Prior to each election, the secretary of state shall also furnish to the chairperson of the |
| state committee of each political party a list of the names and residence addresses of all persons to |
| whom mail ballots have been issued. The secretary of state shall also furnish to a candidate for |
| political office, upon request, a list of the names and residence addresses of all persons to whom |
| mail ballots have been issued within his or her district. |
| (f) If a ballot is returned to the secretary of state by the postal service as undeliverable, the |
| secretary of state shall consult with the appropriate local board to determine the accuracy of the |
| mailing address, and the secretary of state shall be required to remail the ballot to the voter using |
| the corrected address provided by the local board. If the local board is unable to provide a different |
| address than that to which the ballot was originally mailed, the ballot shall be reissued by the |
| secretary of state to the board of canvassers in the city or town where the voter resides utilizing the |
| numerical or alphabetical code established in subsection (d) of this section. The board shall then |
| attempt to notify the voter at his or her place of residence that the ballot has been returned as |
| undeliverable. The ballot must be voted and witnessed in accordance with the provisions of this |
| chapter. |
| (g) The acceptance of a mail ballot application by the board of canvassers and the issuance |
| of a mail ballot by the secretary of state shall not create any presumption as to the accuracy of the |
| information provided by the applicant or as to the applicant's compliance with the provisions of |
| this chapter. Any inaccuracy in the provided information or irregularity in the application may be |
| raised as a challenge to the ballot before the board of elections at the time of certification. If the |
| challenge raised at that time is meritorious, the ballot shall be voided. |
| (h) Within two (2) business days of receipt by the local board, the board shall certify |
| emergency mail ballot applications and shall cause the delivery of the emergency mail ballot |
| applications, and certification sheet in sealed packages to the state board of elections. |
| 17-20-26. Opening and counting of ballots. |
| (a)(1) Beginning prior to and continuing on election day the state board, upon receipt of |
| mail ballots, shall keep the ballots in a safe and secure place that shall be separate and apart from |
| the general public area and sufficiently monitored through security measures including security |
| cameras. The board shall: |
| (i) Open the outer envelope and attach the matching ballot application to the inner |
| certifying envelope; |
| (ii) Beginning fourteen (14), beginning twenty (20) days prior to and continuing on election |
| day, proceed to certify the mail ballots. |
| (2) Notice of these sessions shall be given to the public on the state board of elections' |
| website, and the secretary of state's website, and announcements in newspapers of general |
| circulation published posted at least twenty-four (24) hours before the commencing of any session. |
| All candidates for state and federal office, as well as all state party chairpersons, shall be given |
| notice by telephone, email or otherwise of the day on which ballots affecting that candidate's district |
| will be certified; provided, that failure to effect the notice shall in no way invalidate the ballots. |
| (b) This processing shall be done within a railed space in the room in which it takes place, |
| and the board shall admit within the railed space, in accordance with those rules that the board shall |
| adopt, to witness the processing and certification of the ballots, the interested voter or the voter's |
| representative, the candidates, or at least one representative of each candidate for whom votes are |
| at the time being processed, and an equal number of representatives of each political party. These |
| representatives shall be authorized in writing by the voter, the candidate, or the chairperson of the |
| state committee of the political party, respectively, as the case may be. The board shall also, in |
| accordance with these rules, admit representatives of the press and newscasting agencies and any |
| other persons that it deems proper. |
| (c) At these sessions, and before certifying any ballot, the state board shall: |
| (1) Determine the city or town in which the voter cast his or her ballot and classify |
| accordingly; and |
| (2) Compare the name, residence, and signature of the voter with the name, residence, and |
| signature on the central voter registration system ballot application for mail ballots and satisfy itself |
| that both signatures are identical. The board shall designate two (2) persons, to review and compare |
| each voter's signature with the voter's signature found in the central voter registration system. If |
| both designees agree that the signatures match, the mail ballot shall proceed to be processed, |
| certified, and tabulated. In the event that one or both designees find a discrepancy with the voter's |
| signature, the certification envelope shall then be reviewed by a pair of supervising board staff |
| members. If the pair of supervising board staff members find that the signatures match, then the |
| mail ballot shall proceed to be processed, certified, and tabulated. In the event that one or both |
| supervising board staff members find a discrepancy in the voter's signature, the supervising board |
| staff shall compare the signature on the certification envelope to the voter's ballot application. If |
| the pair of supervising board staff members find that those signatures match, then the mail ballot |
| shall proceed to be processed, certified, and tabulated. In the event that one or both supervising |
| board staff members find a discrepancy in the voter's signature, the supervising board staff shall |
| compare the signature on the certification envelope to the voter's ballot application. If the pair of |
| supervising board staff members find that the signatures match, then the mail ballot shall proceed |
| to be processed, certified, and tabulated. In the event that one or both supervising board staff |
| members find a discrepancy in the voter's signature, the certification envelope shall be segregated, |
| and the board will notify the voter of the discrepancy, in accordance with regulations and |
| procedures promulgated by the board. Any segregated certification envelope that has not been |
| cured or fully addressed by the voter, in accordance with the board's promulgated regulations and |
| procedures, shall be reviewed by the board to make a final determination on the signature set forth |
| on the certification envelope. |
| (d) [Deleted by P.L. 2015, ch. 259, § 1.] |
| (e) The board shall establish guidelines setting forth the grounds for challenging the |
| certification of mail ballots. These guidelines shall recognize that if a ballot can be reasonably |
| identified to be that of the voter it purports to be, and if it can reasonably be determined that the |
| voter was eligible to vote by mail ballot and if the requirements of § 17-20-2.1 were complied with, |
| it should not be subject to frivolous or technical challenge. The burden of proof in challenging a |
| mail ballot as not obtained and/or cast in conformance with this chapter is on the person challenging |
| the ballot. Once the irregularity is shown, the burden of proof shall shift to the person defending |
| the ballot to demonstrate that it is the ballot of the voter it purports to be, that the voter was eligible |
| to vote by mail ballot, and that all of the applicable requirements of § 17-20-2.1 were complied |
| with. The guidelines shall be adopted at a public meeting of the board and shall be made available |
| prior to the start of the certification process for mail ballots. The board shall promulgate regulations |
| that allow for challenges to the certification process by the interested voter, the voter's |
| representative, the candidates, and representatives of the recognized political parties. Such |
| challenges shall be made to the executive director of the board, or the executive director's designee. |
| The decision of the executive director or designee, shall be subject to review by the board. |
| (f) After processing and certification of the mail ballots, they shall be separated in packages |
| in accordance with their respective cities and towns, in the presence of the board and all other |
| interested parties. Thereupon, in each instance the board staff shall open the enclosing envelope, |
| and without looking at the votes cast on the enclosed ballot, shall remove the ballot from the |
| envelope. The state board staff shall proceed to tabulate the ballots through the use of a central |
| count optical-scan unit with the same effect as if the ballots had been cast by the electors in open |
| town or district meetings. |
| (g) When a local election is held at a time other than in conjunction with a statewide |
| election, the state board, after the processing and certification of the mail ballots cast in the local |
| election, shall package the local ballots to be promptly delivered in sealed packages, bearing upon |
| the seals the signatures of the members of the board, to the appropriate local board which shall [a] |
| thereupon proceed to count the ballots in the same manner and with the same effect as state mail |
| ballots are counted by the state board. |
| (h) When a local election is held in New Shoreham at a time other than in conjunction with |
| a statewide election, the state board, after the processing and certification of the mail ballots cast |
| in the local election, shall have the authority to count the ballots in the same manner and with the |
| same effect as state mail ballots are counted by the state board in a statewide election. Once the |
| ballots are counted, the results shall be sent via facsimile to the local board in New Shoreham. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
| ======== |
| LC003933/SUB A |
| ======== |