2023 -- S 0380
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LC001393
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- STATEWIDE REFERENDA ELECTIONS
Introduced By: Senators McKenney, Britto, Burke, LaMountain, and Kallman
Date Introduced: February 16, 2023
Referred To: Senate Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 17-5-1.1, 17-5-3 and 17-5-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-5 1
entitled "Statewide Referenda Elections" are hereby amended to read as follows: 2
17-5-1.1. Special referenda elections. 3
Any proposition of amendment of the Constitution or any other public question submitted 4
to the electors of the state at any election not a general election pursuant to § 17-1-2(2) shall be 5
held on the first Tuesday next after the first Monday of any month and shall be voted upon at town, 6
ward, and district meetings, in accordance with the following procedure: 7
(1) When an act of the general assembly is passed authorizing the submission of a question 8
to all of the electors of the state, the secretary of state is authorized to rephrase the question to 9
appear on the ballot in a manner that would clearly apprise the voters of the question to be voted 10
upon and to cause the ballot to contain a concise caption of the question, and the full text of the 11
question as adopted by the general assembly need not appear on the ballot except for proposed 12
amendments to the Constitution of the state of Rhode Island., but shall: 13
(i) Require that the question shall be stated in plain language reasonably calculated to be 14
understood by persons with middle school reading comprehension skills; and 15
(ii) The secretary of state shall cause each question appearing on the ballot prepared by him 16
or her to be designated by number, the first question to be designated by the numeral I and 17
additional questions shall follow numbered so that all questions submitted to all the electors of the 18
state and appearing upon the ballot are numbered consecutively; provided that local questions shall 19
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be printed on a distinctive colored background. 1
(2) Prior to the election at which public questions are to be submitted, the secretary of state 2
shall cause to be printed and shall send one copy of the full text of each legislative act to be acted 3
upon and applicable to the state at large, or the secretary of state may substitute a description of the 4
text of each act in lieu of the full text, to each residential unit in Rhode Island together with the 5
following information: 6
(i) The designated number of the question appearing on the ballot; 7
(ii) A brief caption of the question appearing on the ballot; and 8
(iii) A brief explanation of the measure being the subject matter of the question. 9
(3) Voting on a proposition of amendment of the Constitution or of a public question of 10
statewide impact shall be by means of optical-scan voting equipment and computer ballots 11
authorized pursuant to this title. 12
17-5-3. Publication of questions to be submitted to voters. 13
(a) Prior to each general election at which public questions are to be submitted, the 14
secretary of state shall cause to be printed and shall send one copy of the full text of each legislative 15
act to be acted upon and applicable to the state at large, or the secretary of state may substitute a 16
description of the text of each act in lieu of the full text, to each residential unit in Rhode Island 17
together with the following information: 18
(1) The designated number of the question; 19
(2) A brief caption of the question; 20
(3) A brief explanation of the measure that is the subject matter of the question stated in 21
plain language reasonably calculated to be understood by persons with middle school reading 22
comprehension skills; and 23
(4) A notice that voter fraud is a felony and the penalty for voter fraud. This notice shall be 24
in conspicuous lettering and shall contain the following language: “You must be registered to vote 25
from your actual place of residence.” 26
(b) If the public question involves the issuance of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness 27
or any other long term financial obligation such as a lease, the notice required by subsection (a) of 28
this section shall also include at least the following information to be provided by the agency or 29
department for which the bonds or other evidence of indebtedness or any other long term financial 30
obligation is intended: 31
(1) The estimated total cost of the project or program, including financing (using a 32
reasonable assumed rate of interest), legal, and other costs. 33
(2) The estimated useful life of the project, and the term of the bonds, other indebtedness, 34
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or other obligation. 1
(3) A reasonably detailed description of the project or program, its purposes, and a project 2
timetable. 3
17-5-5. Language contained on computer ballots. 4
(a) Notwithstanding the authority of the secretary of state to determine the design and 5
content of the computer ballots by rules and regulations, all computer ballots shall contain a clear 6
and concise statement of the nature of each question stated in plain language reasonably calculated 7
to be understood by persons with middle school reading comprehension skills, presented without 8
the necessity of repeating the full text of the question as adopted by the general assembly; provided, 9
that in the case of proposed amendments to the Constitution of the state of Rhode Island, the full 10
text as adopted by the general assembly shall be reprinted on the computer ballots. The secretary 11
of state shall cause each question appearing on the computer ballot prepared by the secretary to be 12
designated by number, the first question to be designated by the number I, and additional questions 13
shall be submitted with numbers in consecutive order. 14
(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the general election to be held on November 2, 2004, 15
in order to avoid a two-sheet statewide ballot, given the number of public questions to be submitted 16
to the electors at such general election, the secretary of state may prepare the ballot in such manner 17
that the statewide public questions involving the issuance of bonds or other evidence of 18
indebtedness, or other long-term financial obligation, shall appear on the ballot with only a caption 19
and the amount of financial obligation to be incurred, but without the clear and concise statement 20
of each question, as otherwise required. Provided, however, that such clear and concise statement 21
of such question shall instead appear in a conspicuous location within each privacy voting booth at 22
each polling place with additional copies thereof available at each polling place; and for mail ballot 23
voters, each such ballot sent to a mail ballot voter shall be accompanied by a clear and concise 24
statement of each question printed on a separate sheet of paper. 25
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the general election to be held on November 4, 2014, 26
in order to avoid a multiple page statewide ballot, given the number of public questions to be 27
submitted to the electors at such general election, the secretary of state may prepare the ballot in 28
such manner that the statewide public questions involving the issuance of bonds or other evidence 29
of indebtedness, or other long-term financial obligation, shall appear on the ballot with only a 30
caption and the amount of financial obligation to be incurred, but without the clear and concise 31
statement of each question, as otherwise required; provided, however, that such clear and concise 32
statement of such question shall instead appear in a conspicuous location within each privacy voting 33
booth at each polling place with additional copies thereof available at each polling place; and for 34
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mail ballot voters, each such ballot sent to a mail ballot voter shall be accompanied by a clear and 1
concise statement of each question printed on a separate sheet of paper. 2
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 3
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LC001393
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- STATEWIDE REFERENDA ELECTIONS
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This act would amend certain election statutes to require ballot questions be written in plain 1
language reasonably calculated to be understood by persons with middle school reading 2
comprehension skills. 3
This act would take effect upon passage. 4
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LC001393
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