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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- H 5460 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC000832 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- VOTING DISTRICTS AND OFFICIALS -- POLLING PLACE |
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| 16 | 16 | | CAP |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Representatives Baginski, Noret, Potter, and Edwards |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: February 08, 2023 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: House State Government & Elections |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 17-11-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-11 entitled "Voting 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Districts and Officials" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 17-11-1. Division of towns and representative district into voting districts. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) The local board of any city or town may, on or before the sixtieth (60th) day preceding 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | any election, divide or redivide the city or town, or any representative district in the city or town, 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | into voting districts. The local board of each city or town shall determine voting districts by 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | geographical boundaries and by no other means. No voting district shall at any time comprise parts 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | of two (2) or more wards. It shall be the duty of the board to divide the city or town, representative 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | district, or ward, so that substantially not more than three thousand (3000) three thousand five 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | hundred (3,500) total eligible registered voters shall be served by the same polling place; provided, 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | however, that any divisions conducted by the local board pursuant to this section shall not result in 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | creating a polling place serving less than five hundred (500) total eligible registered voters, except 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | when a polling place is located in a low-income or elderly residential development, or when it is 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | caused by legislative district boundaries; and provided, further, that no existing polling place which 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | is presently located in a low-income or elderly residential development shall be eliminated. Upon 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | the establishment and approval of any polling place by the state board, changes to the polling place 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | shall not be allowed until the next redistricting by the general assembly, unless the polling place 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | becomes unavailable to the city or town, or no longer meets polling place minimum requirements 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC000832 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | as established by the state board, then the city or town may take the appropriate action to replace 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | the polling place. A polling place may be located either within or without the voting district for 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | which it is established; provided, that a polling place may be located outside the district only upon 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | unanimous determination of the local board and subject to the approval of the state board that a 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | suitable place is not available within the voting district. 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (b) Uniform standards for polling place location. When cities and towns shall, subject to 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | the approval of the state board, designate polling locations in accordance with the provisions of this 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | section and ยง 17-19-3.2, they shall take into account the following factors: 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (1) Accessibility of the polling place to historically disenfranchised communities, 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | including cultural groups, ethnic groups, and minority groups; 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (2) Proximity of polling places to dense concentrations of voters; 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (3) Accessibility of polling places by public transportation; 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (4) Ensuring equitable distribution of polling places in the city or town; and 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (5) Maximizing voter participation, including through the use of community centers and 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | public gathering places as polling places. 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | ======== |
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| 61 | 61 | | LC000832 |
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| 62 | 62 | | ======== |
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| 63 | 63 | | |
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| 64 | 64 | | |
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| 65 | 65 | | LC000832 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 66 | 66 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 67 | 67 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 68 | 68 | | OF |
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| 69 | 69 | | A N A C T |
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| 70 | 70 | | RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- VOTING DISTRICTS AND OFFICIALS -- POLLING PLACE |
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| 71 | 71 | | CAP |
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| 72 | 72 | | *** |
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| 73 | 73 | | This act would increase the maximum number of voters that a polling place can 1 |
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| 74 | 74 | | accommodate from three thousand (3,000) to three thousand five hundred (3,500) and would 2 |
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| 75 | 75 | | provide factors to consider when designating polling locations, taking into account accessibility of 3 |
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| 76 | 76 | | the polling location to disenfranchised communities, proximity to dense concentration of voters, 4 |
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| 77 | 77 | | accessibility to public transportation and maximizing voter participation. 5 |
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| 78 | 78 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 6 |
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| 79 | 79 | | ======== |
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| 80 | 80 | | LC000832 |
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