It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 17-1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-1 entitled "General Provisions" are hereby amended to read as follows:

17-1-2. Definitions. -- For the purposes of this title, except as may otherwise be required by the context:

(a) "Election" shall mean the filling of any public office or the determination of any public question by vote of the electorate, and shall include without limitation thereto any state, town, or city office or question, and any political party primary election for the nomination of any candidate for public office; except that it shall not include a financial town meeting or a meeting to elect officers of a fire, water, or sewer district;

(b) "General election" shall mean an election held on the first Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in even numbered years for the election of members of the general assembly and/or for the election of general officers, and/or for the election of presidential electors for president/vice-president of the United States;

(c) "General officer" shall mean an officer designated as a general officer by chapter 2 of this title;

(d) "Local election" shall mean any election limited to the electorate of any city or town, or any part thereof, at which any city, town, ward, or district officers are to be chosen, or any elective meeting at which a question is to be submitted to the voters of a city, town, or any subdivision thereof but it shall not include a financial town meeting;

(e) "Local board" shall mean a town or city board of canvassers, board of canvassers and registration, canvassing authority, or any other local board, commission, or officer empowered by law to have custody of the permanent registration records;

(f) "Political party" or "party" shall mean (1) any political organization which at the next preceding general election for the election of general officers nominated a candidate for governor, and whose candidate for governor at the election polled at least five per cent (5%) of the entire vote cast in the state for governor, or (2) any political organization which at the next preceding general election for the election of a president of the United States nominated a candidate for president and whose candidate for president at the election polled at least five percent (5%) of the entire vote cast in the state for president, or (3) any political organization which, on petition forms provided to the chairman of such organization by the state board of elections, shall obtain the signatures and addresses of that number of registered qualified voters which shall be equal to five percent (5%) of the entire vote cast in the state for governor or president in the immediately preceding general election. All such signatures must be obtained no earlier than January 1 of the year in which the political organization desires to place a candidate or candidates on any ballot as a "party" candidate. If the political organization wishes to select its nominees in a primary election, said petitions, bearing the requisite number of valid signatures, shall be presented to the appropriate local boards of canvassers no later than June 1 of the same year. If said petitions are validated by said local boards as containing the requisite number of valid signatures, said political organization shall be deemed to be a political party for all elections held during such year and may select its nominees in a primary election. If the political organization does not wish to select its nominees in a primary election, then said petitions need not be returned to local boards of canvassers until August 1 of the same year. An organization qualifying as a political party through the petition process shall qualify as a political party only during the year in which such signatures are obtained unless the candidates for governor or president of the United States of such party at a general election held in such year, shall receive five percent (5%) of the vote as provided above for either governor or president of the United States. If such candidates do not receive said five percent (5%) of the vote, the organization shall no longer qualify as a political party unless and until it shall, in a subsequent year, once again qualify by the submission of petitions;

(g) "Primary election" shall mean any election to select the candidates of a political party;

(h) "Proposition" or "public question" shall mean any question put to referendum of the electorate of the entire state or any part thereof;

(i) "Polling place" shall mean the room in which any election or elective meeting is conducted;

(j) "State board" shall mean the state board of elections constituted pursuant to this title;

(k) "Special election" shall mean any election other than a local election or primary election which is not held on a general election day;

(l) "Vacancy in office" shall mean the condition resulting from any failure to elect or appoint an eligible and qualified person to public office, or the failure of any person duly elected or appointed to qualify, or from the death, resignation, or removal of an incumbent prior to the expiration of his or her term of office and where no fixed term is prescribed upon the death, resignation, or removal;

(m) "Voting list" shall mean the original permanent registration cards provided and maintained in locked binders pursuant to this title and in the event of the loss, destruction, or unavailability of any of these cards, the duplicate permanent registration cards provided and maintained pursuant to this title to the extent that the original card or cards shall have been lost, destroyed, or unavailable and until it or they may be replaced; {ADD the complete list of all voters prepared from the information contained in the original permanent registration records in the possession of the local board of canvassers. ADD}

(n) "Party member" shall mean any person who is a member of a designated political party pursuant to section 17-9-26. {ADD section 17-9.1-23. ADD}

(o) "Qualified voter" shall mean any person who is eligible to vote under the requirements of age, residence, and citizenship prescribed by the state constitution and who is duly registered to vote, or who is exempt from registration, pursuant to this title, and who is not otherwise disqualified as a voter pursuant to law;

(p) "Party voter" shall mean any qualified voter who is eligible to vote at the primary election of a political party;

(q) "State election" shall mean any election at which any presidential electors, senator or representatives in congress, general officers of the state, or members of the general assembly are to be chosen, or at which a public question or an amendment to the Constitution is submitted to the electors of the state;

(r) "Warden" shall include "moderator," and vice versa;

(s) Words importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine gender;

(t) "State officer" shall mean the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, attorney-general, general treasurer, state senator, and state representative;

(u) "Independent candidate" shall mean a candidate who has no affiliation with any political party.

SECTION 2. Sections 17-9.1-6, 17-9.1-7, 17-9.1-9 and 17-9.1-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-9.1 entitled "Registration of Voters" are hereby amended to read as follows:

17-9.1-6. Form of registration cards -- Confidentiality of place of registration. (Effective Jan. 1, 1995.) -- (a) Registration forms shall consist of such number of sets of cards and of such size and color as shall be determined by the state board of elections, one (1) of which forms shall be designated as the original and any others as duplicates. The forms shall be ruled with appropriate spaces and headings to indicate the registrant's name, residence address, mailing address if different from residence address, place and date of birth, and registrant's signature and date of affixation of signature, and may include such other information, certifications, and declarations including those made under the penalty of perjury, as may be required by the state board in order to administer a single and unified system of voter registration (in accordance with applicable state and federal laws) which shall enable duly registered voters to vote in all elections in their respective voting districts including elections for federal officers.

(b) Notwithstanding that registration forms are public records, nothing contained in said registration forms nor any identifying characteristic of such forms such as size or color shall indicate the particular office of the division of motor vehicles at which the voter was registered nor shall there be any indication that the voter was registered at any other state, federal or private agency. Nothing herein contained shall restrict the state board of elections from maintaining confidential records showing the actual place of registration of all voters.

17-9.1-7. Registration at the division of motor vehicles. (Effective Jan. 1, 1995) -- Every person applying at the division of motor vehicles for a driver's license or a renewal thereof, or personal identification document issued by said division of motor vehicles, and who is or may be by the next general election qualified to vote, shall be afforded the opportunity to register to vote, or if previously registered, to change their address for voting purposes.

The application to register to vote must be offered simultaneously with the application for the driver's license or renewal thereof, or personal identification document. Division of motor vehicles employees must provide to applicants for driver's licenses, renewal thereof, or personal identification documents, the same level of assistance and instruction with respect to the application to register to vote as is provided with respect to the application for driver's licenses, renewals thereof or personal identification documents; provided, however, that separate signatures shall be required on the application for driver's license, renewal thereof, or personal identification document, and the application to register to vote. The applicant may decline to register to vote by failing to sign the voter registration form. In order to protect the privacy of those who do not wish to register to vote for any reason, the failure of an applicant for a driver's license or renewal thereof, or a personal identification document to sign the voter registration form may not be used for any purposes other than to determine the person's voter registration status.

The voter registration application shall contain the registrant's name, residence address, mailing address if different from residence address, place and date of birth, and registrant's signature and date of affixation of signature, and may include such other information, certifications, and declarations including those made under the penalty of perjury, as may be required by the state board in order to administer a single and unified system of voter registration (in accordance with applicable state and federal laws) which shall enable duly registered voters to vote in all elections in their respective voting districts including elections for federal officers. The voter registration application must also include, in print identical to that used in the attestation portion of the form, the following: (1) the penalties provided by law for submitting a false voter registration, (2) a statement that if the applicant declines to register to vote, his or her decision will remain confidential and be used only for voter registration purposes, and (3) a statement that if the applicant does register to vote, information regarding the office or branch of the division of motor vehicles to which the application was submitted will remain confidential, to be used only for voter registration purposes. It shall be the responsibility of the division of motor vehicles to print and to have available at all time a sufficient number of voter registration forms in order to carry out the provisions of this section.

The completed voter registration application shall be transmitted by the division of motor vehicles to the state board or any local board not later than ten (10) days after the date of acceptance by the division of motor vehicles. However, if such acceptance occurs on the last day to register to vote or within five (5) days preceding such date, the application shall be transmitted to the state board or any local board not later than five (5) days after the date of acceptance.

Any person who has fully and correctly completed an application to register to vote at the division of motor vehicles is presumed to be registered as of the date of the acceptance of such registration by the division of motor vehicles, subject however to verification of such registration by the state board or any local board as provided in section 17-9.1-25.

The state board of elections shall have the authority to adopt regulations to implement and administer the provisions of this section including all registrations taken at the division of motor vehicles.

17-9.1-9. Registration by mail. (Effective Jan. 1, 1995.) -- (a) Every person who is, or may be by the next general election, qualified to vote may register to vote by mail. Such mail registration shall be accomplished through the use of the federal mail registration form prescribed by the Federal Election Commission under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 USC 1973gg) and/or through the use of a mail registration form prescribed by the state board of elections which complies with the requirements contained in said National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Such form shall contain the registrant's name, residence address, mailing address if different from residence address, place and date of birth, and registrant's signature and date of affixation of signature, and may include such other information, certifications, and declarations including those made under the penalty of perjury, as may be required by the state board in order to administer a single and unified system of voter registration (in accordance with applicable state and federal laws) which shall enable duly registered voters to vote in all elections in their respective voting districts including elections for federal officers.

(b) Any person who has fully and correctly completed an application to register to vote by mail which is delivered by the postal service to the State Board of Elections or any local board shall be presumed to be registered as of the date it is postmarked by said postal service, subject however to verification of such registration by the state board of any local board as provided in section 17-9.1-25. Provided, however, in those cases where the mail registration form is received not later than five (5) days after the last date to register to vote for an election and the postmark is either missing or unclear, the voter shall be presumed to have registered on or prior to the last day to register for an election, subject however to verification of such registration by the state board or any local board as provided in section 17-9.1-25.

(c) The state board of elections shall have authority to adopt regulations to implement and administer mail registrations.

17-9.1-26. Confirmation process -- Verification of the address of registered voter. (Effective Jan. 1, 1995.) -- (a) Whenever an acknowledgement card, which was mailed to a voter whose application to register to vote has been accepted, is returned as undeliverable; or whenever, through the periodic updating of voter registration records as provided in section 17-9.1-27, a change of address is detected for any voter; or whenever as the result of a challenge under section 17-9.1-28 the challenged voter shall fail to appear before the local board; or whenever a mailing by the jury commissioner to a voter is returned as undeliverable, the local board shall begin the confirmation process described in subparagraph (b) below. Whenever any other official mailing from either the state board or a local board or from the office of the secretary of state, which official mailing has been sent to at least a majority of the registered voters in a particular city or town, shall be returned as undeliverable to any one (1) or more of such voters to whom it was mailed, the local board may commence the confirmation process described in subparagraph (b) below.

(b) The confirmation form shall be sent by first class forwardable mail and shall be of such size or other specifications as shall be determined by the state board. Said form shall be designed so that a portion thereof may be used by the voter to verify or correct the voter's residence address for voting purposes.

(c) Said confirmation form shall be prepared in substantially the following form and shall contain substantially the following information, subject to any additional information as may be required by the state board; provided, however, that the wording of the form may be revised and updated from time to time by the state board in a manner to make its content as easily readable and understandable as possible:

The board of canvassers has received information that you may no longer reside at the address from which you are currently registered. If you have not permanently changed your residence address or if you have permanently changed your residence address but continue to live in the same city or town you should immediately return the post card attached to the bottom of this form no later than fourteen (14) days after the date of this mailing even if this notice was mailed to your correct current address. If the post card is not returned, affirmation or confirmation of your current address may be required at the polls on election day. If the post card is not returned and you do not vote by ___________ which is the date of the second general election following the date of this mailing, then your name may be removed from the voter registration list.

If you have permanently changed residence address to another city or town, please detach, complete, and return the postcard at the bottom of this form even if this notice was mailed to your correct current address. Please note that in order to vote, you will have to register with the voter registration office in your new city or town. Even though you have returned the post card below, you must register in your new city or town in order to be eligible to vote.

Board of Canvassers of City/Town of

Address:

Telephone Number:

_____________________________________

Signature

_____________________________________

Date

WARNING If you knowingly provide false voter registration information on this form, you may be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for a term of not more than ten (10) years or by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or both, for each offense.

___________________________________________________________________

(d) The confirmation form shall be mailed to both the voter's current registered address and any new residence address, to the extent both addresses are available to the local board.

(e) If a confirmation card is mailed to a voter and returned as undeliverable or if delivered and the voter has not responded within fourteen (14) days from the date of the mailing, the voter shall remain on or be placed on the inactive list and shall not be permitted to vote until such time as the voter has signed an affirmation form at either the approved polling place or at the local board of canvassers as provided in this chapter. Provided, however, that if the voter fails to vote by the second general election following the date of the confirmation mailing, then such voter shall be removed from the voting list. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the confirmation mailing was based upon the change of address information provided by or through the United States Postal Service National Change of Address Program, and the voter has failed to respond to such confirmation mailing, the voter shall remain on the active list of voters and shall not be required to sign the affirmation form. In such cases, the voter's residence address for voting purposes will be changed by the local board to the new address as indicated by the National Change of Address Program.

(f) Local boards shall be required to maintain for a period of at least two (2) years a record of all outgoing confirmation mailings including the reasons for the mailing of same. Records shall be kept in such fashion as may be determined by the state board.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.