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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- H 5276 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC000299 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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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 -- PRIMARIES FOR ELECTION OF DELEGATES TO |
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| 16 | 16 | | NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND FOR PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Representatives Shanley, Kislak, Craven, McEntee, Casimiro, Cruz, |
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| 18 | 18 | | Messier, Cotter, Spears, and Carson |
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| 19 | 19 | | Date Introduced: January 31, 2025 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Referred To: House State Government & Elections |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | |
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| 23 | 23 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 1. Sections 17-12.1-2, 17-12.1-4, 17-12.1-8, 17-12.1-9, 17-12.1-11, 17-12.1-12 1 |
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| 25 | 25 | | and 17-12.1-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-12.1 entitled "Primaries for Election of 2 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Delegates to National Conventions and for Presidential Preference" is hereby amended to read as 3 |
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| 27 | 27 | | follows: 4 |
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| 28 | 28 | | 17-12.1-2. Number of delegates to be elected — Method of election. 5 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (a) At each primary there shall be elected for each congressional district of this state the 6 |
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| 30 | 30 | | number of delegates and alternates that shall be determined by the national committee of the party 7 |
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| 31 | 31 | | and certified to the secretary of state not later than the first Tuesday in January preceding the 8 |
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| 32 | 32 | | primary by the state committee of the party. The method of election of candidates for delegate shall 9 |
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| 33 | 33 | | be in accordance with party rules certified to the secretary of state by the chairperson of the state 10 |
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| 34 | 34 | | committee on or before the first Tuesday in January of each year a primary is to be held pursuant 11 |
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| 35 | 35 | | to this chapter. 12 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (b) The presidential preference primary shall be conducted using ranked choice voting as 13 |
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| 37 | 37 | | set forth in this chapter. The notice provided by the chairperson of a state committee under 14 |
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| 38 | 38 | | subsection (a) of this section shall indicate whether the party prefers the presidential preference 15 |
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| 39 | 39 | | primary tabulation to occur on a winner-take-all basis in accordance with § 17-12.1-17(b) or on a 16 |
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| 40 | 40 | | proportional basis in accordance with § 17-12.1-17(c). The notice shall further indicate how 17 |
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| 41 | 41 | | delegates are to be allocated and on what geographical basis delegates are to be allocated, whether 18 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC000299 - Page 2 of 11 |
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| 45 | 45 | | statewide, by congressional district, by other geographic unit, or a combination thereof. If the party 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | requests that tabulation occurs on a proportional basis, the chairperson shall indicate what the 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | applicable threshold for receiving delegates in the presidential preference primary will be. If a party 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | fails to specify how to tabulate ballots, the presidential preference primary election for that party 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | shall be tabulated on a statewide winner-take-all basis in accordance with § 17-12.1-17(b). 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude a political party from allocating 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | delegates according to its own rules for allocating such delegates. 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | 17-12.1-4. Presidential candidates. 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (a) Any person seeking the endorsement of a national political party for which a primary 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | is being held shall, during the ninety-fourth (94th) through and including the ninety-sixth (96th) 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | day preceding the presidential preference primary being held, provide written notification to the 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | secretary of state of his or her intention to run in the presidential preference primary. When the 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | deadline falls on a Saturday, said written notification may be filed with the secretary of state on 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | that Saturday until noon (12:00) p.m. The notification shall include the candidate’s name and 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | address and a statement affirming their eligibility, under the laws and Constitution of the United 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | States, to serve, if elected, in the office of President of the United States. The notification shall also 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | include the name and contact information of the designee authorized by the presidential candidate 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | to act in his/her stead in Rhode Island. 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (b)(1) Upon receipt of the notification referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | secretary of state shall, by six o’clock (6:00) p.m. on the same day, prepare petition papers for 20 |
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| 65 | 65 | | candidates who are eligible to serve in the office of President of the United States, clearly marked 21 |
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| 66 | 66 | | with the candidate’s name, party designation, and the office the candidate seeks; provided, 22 |
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| 67 | 67 | | however, that for notifications filed on a Saturday deadline by noon (12:00) p.m., petition papers 23 |
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| 68 | 68 | | shall be prepared by two o’clock (2:00) p.m. on that Saturday. 24 |
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| 69 | 69 | | (2) The petition papers of a candidate for president shall be signed, in the aggregate, by at 25 |
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| 70 | 70 | | least one thousand (1,000) eligible voters and shall be submitted on or before four o’clock (4:00) 26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | p.m. in the afternoon of the eighty-second (82nd) day before the presidential preference primary to 27 |
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| 72 | 72 | | the local board of the city or town where the signers appear to be voters, and the petition papers 28 |
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| 73 | 73 | | shall be checked, processed, and certified to the secretary of state by the local boards before four 29 |
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| 74 | 74 | | o’clock (4:00) p.m. in the afternoon of the sixty-ninth (69th) day before the presidential preference 30 |
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| 75 | 75 | | primary. When nomination papers have been duly certified by the appropriate local boards of 31 |
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| 76 | 76 | | canvassers, they shall be conclusively presumed to be valid, unless written objections to them are 32 |
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| 77 | 77 | | made as to the eligibility of the candidate or the sufficiency of the nomination papers or the 33 |
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| 78 | 78 | | signatures on them. All objections shall be filed with the state board of elections by four o’clock 34 |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 81 | 81 | | LC000299 - Page 3 of 11 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (4:00) p.m. on the next business day after the last day fixed for local boards to file nomination 1 |
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| 83 | 83 | | papers with the secretary of state. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the secretary 2 |
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| 84 | 84 | | of state from disqualifying a candidate based on the determination of the secretary of state that the 3 |
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| 85 | 85 | | nomination papers or the signatures on them are invalid or insufficient. 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | (c) The decision of the state board shall be rendered not later than four o’clock (4:00) p.m. 5 |
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| 87 | 87 | | on the sixty-third (63rd) day before the presidential preference primary and shall immediately be 6 |
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| 88 | 88 | | certified by the state board to the secretary of state. 7 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (d) If any candidate for presidential nomination does not qualify for ballot placement, the 8 |
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| 90 | 90 | | names of delegates committed to this disqualified presidential candidate, who are otherwise 9 |
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| 91 | 91 | | qualified, shall appear on the ballot in accordance with party rules. 10 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (e) If any candidate whose name has been announced as a presidential nominee does not 11 |
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| 93 | 93 | | thereafter wish his or her name to appear on the ballot, the candidate shall, at least sixty-three (63) 12 |
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| 94 | 94 | | days prior to the date for the primary, file an affidavit with the secretary of state stating his or her 13 |
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| 95 | 95 | | name may not be placed on the ballot and the secretary of state shall not place that candidate’s 14 |
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| 96 | 96 | | name on the ballot. Said affidavit must be signed by the presidential candidate or his or her designee 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | on file with the office of the secretary of state. Names of delegates committed to the withdrawn 16 |
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| 98 | 98 | | such candidate, who are otherwise qualified, shall appear on the ballot in accordance with party 17 |
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| 99 | 99 | | rules. 18 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (f) If any candidate whose name already appears on the ballot as a presidential nominee 19 |
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| 101 | 101 | | chooses to withdraw from consideration prior to the date established for the presidential preference 20 |
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| 102 | 102 | | primary election, that candidate shall file a signed letter of withdrawal with their national and state 21 |
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| 103 | 103 | | party chairpersons in compliance with any applicable party rules that may exist governing the 22 |
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| 104 | 104 | | timing, procedures, or substance of candidate withdrawals or suspensions. The candidate further 23 |
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| 105 | 105 | | shall file an affidavit with the secretary of state stating that the candidate is a withdrawn candidate 24 |
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| 106 | 106 | | and wishes to be treated as an inactive candidate in the tabulation conducted under § 17-12.1-17. 25 |
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| 107 | 107 | | Such affidavit must be signed by the presidential candidate or the candidate's designee on file with 26 |
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| 108 | 108 | | the office of the secretary of state. 27 |
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| 109 | 109 | | 17-12.1-8. Presidential preference primary. 28 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (a) On the same date and at the same time as the election of delegates to national 29 |
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| 111 | 111 | | conventions, as provided in § 17-12.1-1, there shall be held a presidential preference primary for 30 |
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| 112 | 112 | | each political party at which each party voter shall have one vote with the opportunity to vote rank 31 |
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| 113 | 113 | | his or her preference preferences for his or her choice for one person which candidate should to be 32 |
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| 114 | 114 | | the candidate presidential nominee of his or her party for president of the United States. The voter 33 |
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| 115 | 115 | | shall also have the ability to rank "uncommitted" among his or her preferences. 34 |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | |
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| 118 | 118 | | LC000299 - Page 4 of 11 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (b) The secretary of state shall place on the ballot the name of all persons qualified as 1 |
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| 120 | 120 | | candidates for presidential nominee as provided in § 17-12.1-4, and who have not filed with the 2 |
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| 121 | 121 | | secretary of state the affidavit as provided in § 17-12.1-4(e). The lists of candidates for delegate 3 |
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| 122 | 122 | | shall be placed on a separate portion of the ballot and shall be grouped by and clearly indicate 4 |
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| 123 | 123 | | which candidate for presidential nominee approved the individual’s candidacy, and shall list under 5 |
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| 124 | 124 | | the name of each candidate for presidential nominee, arranged by lot, the names of all candidates 6 |
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| 125 | 125 | | for delegates to a national convention who submitted the approval of the candidate for presidential 7 |
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| 126 | 126 | | nominee as set forth in § 17-12.1-7. All other candidates for delegates to a national convention shall 8 |
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| 127 | 127 | | be listed on the ballot, arranged by lot, as uncommitted, unless otherwise specified in party rules. 9 |
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| 128 | 128 | | 17-12.1-9. Voting for nominees and delegates — Designation of winning delegates. 10 |
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| 129 | 129 | | (a) Each voter shall vote rank, within that voter’s party presidential preference primary, his 11 |
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| 130 | 130 | | or her preferences among for the presidential nominees of that voter’s choice and or among those 12 |
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| 131 | 131 | | preferences a ranking that voter’s choice for no nominee in a space provided and designated 13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | “uncommitted.” 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (b) Each voter shall vote, within that voter's party delegate election primary and for any or 15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | all of the number of elected delegates allocated to Rhode Island by the respective national 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | committees. 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (c) The number of delegates and the designation of the winning delegates shall be 18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | determined pursuant to the rules of the political party filed with the secretary of state as provided 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | by this chapter. 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | 17-12.1-11. Form of ballot. 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (a) The order on the ballot, subject to final determination of any objections filed with the 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | board of elections and the removal of said individual(s) by the secretary of state post-lot, of the 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | presidential nominees and delegates and the uncommitted delegates shall be chosen by lot under 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | the direction of the secretary of state. 25 |
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| 144 | 144 | | (b) Individuals committed to a particular presidential candidate or uncommitted shall 26 |
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| 145 | 145 | | appear in a manner so that the candidates for delegates shall be readily identified with the 27 |
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| 146 | 146 | | presidential candidate to whom they are committed or shall appear in a manner that clearly shows 28 |
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| 147 | 147 | | they are uncommitted. 29 |
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| 148 | 148 | | (c) No person shall appear on the ballot as a candidate for delegate more than once. 30 |
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| 149 | 149 | | (d) There shall be nothing on the ballot to indicate or suggest any political party 31 |
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| 150 | 150 | | endorsement. 32 |
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| 151 | 151 | | (e) The secretary of state shall prepare and arrange the ballot for use in the primaries 33 |
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| 152 | 152 | | authorized in this title, which shall include, as to the candidates for delegates, the person to whom 34 |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | |
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| 155 | 155 | | LC000299 - Page 5 of 11 |
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| 156 | 156 | | the candidates are committed and any other information and instruction that the secretary of state 1 |
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| 157 | 157 | | shall deem necessary. 2 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (f) The ballot shall allow voters to rank five (5) qualified presidential candidates in order 3 |
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| 159 | 159 | | of choice. 4 |
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| 160 | 160 | | 17-12.1-12. Definitions. 5 |
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| 161 | 161 | | For the purposes of this chapter the following terms have the meaning indicated as follows: 6 |
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| 162 | 162 | | (1) "Active candidate" means any candidate who has not been eliminated during tabulation 7 |
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| 163 | 163 | | or is not a withdrawn candidate within the meaning of § 17-12.1-12(8). 8 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (2) "Highest-ranked active candidate" means the active candidate assigned to a higher 9 |
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| 165 | 165 | | ranking than any other active candidates on a ballot. 10 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (1)(3) “Political party” is defined as provided in § 17-1-2(9). 11 |
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| 167 | 167 | | (4) "Ranking order" means the number available to be assigned by a voter to a candidate 12 |
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| 168 | 168 | | to express the voter's choice for that candidate. The number "1" is the highest-ranking order, 13 |
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| 169 | 169 | | followed by "2" and then "3" and so on. 14 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (5) "Round" means an instance of the sequence of voting tabulation described in § 17-12.1-15 |
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| 171 | 171 | | 17(b) for winner-take-all selection of delegates or § 17-12.1-17(c) for proportional selection of 16 |
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| 172 | 172 | | delegates. 17 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (6) "Threshold for receiving delegates" means the percentage of votes for active candidates 18 |
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| 174 | 174 | | necessary for a presidential candidate to receive delegates in a presidential preference primary 19 |
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| 175 | 175 | | election conducted in accordance with § 17-12.1-17(c). 20 |
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| 176 | 176 | | (2)(7) “Uncommitted” means a candidate for delegate not approved by, obligated, or 21 |
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| 177 | 177 | | committed to any particular presidential contender. 22 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (8) "Withdrawn candidate" means any candidate who filed all requisite letters or affidavits 23 |
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| 179 | 179 | | required under § 17-12.1-4(f). 24 |
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| 180 | 180 | | 17-12.1-14. Recount. 25 |
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| 181 | 181 | | (a) Upon application, the state board of elections shall conduct a recount for a presidential 26 |
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| 182 | 182 | | candidate or delegate for a winning candidate when there is a two hundred (200) or less vote 27 |
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| 183 | 183 | | difference in the final round of tabulation between the losing candidate or delegate and the winner. 28 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (b) Upon application, the state board of elections shall conduct a recount for a delegate for 29 |
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| 185 | 185 | | a winning presidential candidate when there is a two hundred (200) or fewer vote difference 30 |
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| 186 | 186 | | between the losing delegate and the winner. 31 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (c) A recount under subsection (a) or (b) of this section Said recount shall be conducted by 32 |
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| 188 | 188 | | re-reading the programmed memory device or devices and comparing the results and totals obtained 33 |
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| 189 | 189 | | at such recount with the results and totals obtained on election night. 34 |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | |
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| 192 | 192 | | LC000299 - Page 6 of 11 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (b)(d) The state board shall have the authority to adopt rules and regulations to implement 1 |
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| 194 | 194 | | and administer the provisions of this section. 2 |
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| 195 | 195 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 17-12.1 of the General Laws entitled "Primaries for Election of 3 |
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| 196 | 196 | | Delegates to National Conventions and for Presidential Preference" is hereby amended by adding 4 |
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| 197 | 197 | | thereto the following sections: 5 |
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| 198 | 198 | | 17-12.1-17. Ranked choice voting tabulation. 6 |
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| 199 | 199 | | (a) In any state-administered presidential preference primary election for President of the 7 |
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| 200 | 200 | | United States conducted using ranked choice voting, each ballot shall count as one vote for the 8 |
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| 201 | 201 | | highest-ranked active candidate on that ballot. Withdrawn candidates shall be treated the same as 9 |
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| 202 | 202 | | candidates who have been eliminated from tabulation. A ranking of "uncommitted" shall be treated 10 |
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| 203 | 203 | | the same as a ranking containing a candidate. 11 |
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| 204 | 204 | | (b) If a party awards delegates to a single candidate on a winner-take-all basis, tabulation 12 |
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| 205 | 205 | | shall proceed in rounds as follows: 13 |
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| 206 | 206 | | (1) If there are more than two (2) active candidates, the active candidate with the fewest 14 |
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| 207 | 207 | | votes is eliminated, and votes for the eliminated candidate are counted for each ballot's next-ranked 15 |
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| 208 | 208 | | active candidate. 16 |
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| 209 | 209 | | (2) If there are two (2) or fewer active candidates, tabulation is complete. 17 |
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| 210 | 210 | | (c) If a party awards delegates to multiple candidates on a proportional basis, tabulation 18 |
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| 211 | 211 | | shall proceed in rounds as follows: 19 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (1) If the vote total of any active candidate is below the party's threshold for receiving 20 |
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| 213 | 213 | | delegates set under § 17-12.1-2(b), the active candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and 21 |
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| 214 | 214 | | votes for the eliminated candidate are counted for each ballot's next-ranked active candidate. 22 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (2) If the vote total of every active candidate is above the party's threshold for receiving 23 |
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| 216 | 216 | | delegates, tabulation is complete. 24 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (d) The following rules shall apply to the treatment of ballots during tabulation: 25 |
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| 218 | 218 | | (1) An undervote is a ballot that does not rank any candidates in a particular contest. An 26 |
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| 219 | 219 | | undervote does not count as an active or inactive ballot in any round of tabulation of that contest. 27 |
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| 220 | 220 | | (2) An inactive ballot is a ballot that ceases in a round of tabulation to count for any 28 |
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| 221 | 221 | | candidate for the remainder of the tabulation of the contest because either: 29 |
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| 222 | 222 | | (i) All candidates ranked on the ballot have become inactive; or 30 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (ii) The ballot includes an overvote and any candidates ranked higher than the overvote 31 |
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| 224 | 224 | | have become inactive. An overvote occurs when a voter ranks more than one candidate at the same 32 |
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| 225 | 225 | | ranking. 33 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (3) During tabulation, a ballot shall remain active and continue to count for its highest-34 |
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| 227 | 227 | | |
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| 228 | 228 | | |
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| 229 | 229 | | LC000299 - Page 7 of 11 |
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| 230 | 230 | | ranked active candidate notwithstanding any skipped or repeated rankings on the ballot. A skipped 1 |
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| 231 | 231 | | ranking occurs when a voter leaves a ranking unassigned, but ranks a candidate at a subsequent 2 |
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| 232 | 232 | | ranking. A repeated ranking occurs when a voter ranks the same candidate at multiple rankings. 3 |
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| 233 | 233 | | (e) If two (2) or more candidates are tied with the fewest votes and tabulation cannot 4 |
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| 234 | 234 | | continue until the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, then the candidate to be eliminated 5 |
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| 235 | 235 | | shall be determined by lot. Election officials may resolve prospective ties between candidates prior 6 |
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| 236 | 236 | | to tabulation. The result of any tie resolution must be recorded and reused in the event of a recount. 7 |
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| 237 | 237 | | (f) When the secretary of state certifies the results of the election, the secretary shall certify 8 |
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| 238 | 238 | | the results of each round tabulated pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this section, as applicable, 9 |
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| 239 | 239 | | along with any other information required under § 17-12.1-18, to the state chairperson and the 10 |
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| 240 | 240 | | national committee of each political party that had at least one candidate on the state-administered 11 |
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| 241 | 241 | | presidential primary election ballot to allocate national delegate votes in accordance with the party's 12 |
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| 242 | 242 | | state and national rules. 13 |
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| 243 | 243 | | 17-12.1-18. Results reporting. 14 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (a) The secretary of state shall promulgate rules or guidance to facilitate the release of 15 |
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| 245 | 245 | | unofficial preliminary results after the polls close, including: 16 |
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| 246 | 246 | | (1) Round-by-round results, which shall be: 17 |
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| 247 | 247 | | (i) First released as soon as a reasonable number of precincts have reported, but in no event 18 |
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| 248 | 248 | | later than 11:59 PM on election night; 19 |
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| 249 | 249 | | (ii) Periodically released at regular intervals until the counting of ballots is complete; and 20 |
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| 250 | 250 | | (iii) Clearly labeled as preliminary and include the number of counted and uncounted 21 |
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| 251 | 251 | | ballots to date; and 22 |
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| 252 | 252 | | (2) Ballot-level ranking data on a contest-by-contest basis, which shall be: 23 |
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| 253 | 253 | | (i) Released no later than the counting of ballots is complete; 24 |
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| 254 | 254 | | (ii) Published online in a machine-readable, open format that can be retrieved, downloaded, 25 |
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| 255 | 255 | | indexed, sorted, and searched by commonly used Internet search applications and commonly used 26 |
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| 256 | 256 | | open format software; 27 |
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| 257 | 257 | | (iii) Identifiable by precinct to the extent such identification is feasible and can be provided 28 |
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| 258 | 258 | | consistent with the need to maintain voter privacy; and 29 |
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| 259 | 259 | | (iv) Clearly labeled as preliminary. 30 |
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| 260 | 260 | | (3) In adopting rules or guidance under this subsection, the secretary of state shall consult 31 |
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| 261 | 261 | | with, and allow for input from, local election officials, and national and state party representatives. 32 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (b) In addition to any other information required by law to be reported with official final 33 |
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| 263 | 263 | | results, the secretary of state shall make public: 34 |
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| 264 | 264 | | |
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| 265 | 265 | | |
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| 266 | 266 | | LC000299 - Page 8 of 11 |
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| 267 | 267 | | (1) The number and percentage of votes that each candidate received in each round of the 1 |
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| 268 | 268 | | official tabulation: 2 |
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| 269 | 269 | | (2) The number of ballots that became inactive in each round for the reasons set out in § 3 |
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| 270 | 270 | | 17-12.1-17(d)(2), reported as separate figures; and 4 |
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| 271 | 271 | | (3) Ballot-level ranking data on a contest-by-contest basis in a machine-readable, open 5 |
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| 272 | 272 | | format that can be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, sorted, and searched by commonly used Internet 6 |
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| 273 | 273 | | search applications and commonly used open format software, and in a manner identifiable by 7 |
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| 274 | 274 | | precinct to the extent such identification is feasible and can be provided consistent with the need to 8 |
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| 275 | 275 | | maintain voter privacy. 9 |
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| 276 | 276 | | (c) The secretary of state shall provide round-by-round results for each party on the 10 |
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| 277 | 277 | | geographical basis or bases identified in the notice submitted by the chairperson of that party's state 11 |
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| 278 | 278 | | committee pursuant to § 17-12.1-2. 12 |
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| 279 | 279 | | 17-12.1-19. Rulemaking authority. 13 |
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| 280 | 280 | | The secretary of state shall have the authority to promulgate whatever rules, regulations, 14 |
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| 281 | 281 | | and procedures are necessary to implement this chapter. 15 |
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| 282 | 282 | | SECTION 3. Section 17-19-37.4 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-19 entitled "Conduct 16 |
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| 283 | 283 | | of Election and Voting Equipment, and Supplies" is hereby amended to read as follows: 17 |
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| 284 | 284 | | 17-19-37.4. Post-election audits. 18 |
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| 285 | 285 | | (a) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that auditing of election 19 |
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| 286 | 286 | | results is necessary to ensure effective election administration and public confidence in the election 20 |
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| 287 | 287 | | results. Further, risk-limiting audits provide a more effective manner of conducting audits than 21 |
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| 288 | 288 | | traditional audit methods in that risk-limiting audit methods typically require only limited resources 22 |
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| 289 | 289 | | for election contests with wide margins of victory while investing greater resources in close 23 |
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| 290 | 290 | | contests. 24 |
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| 291 | 291 | | (b) Commencing in 2018, the board, in conjunction with local boards, is authorized to 25 |
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| 292 | 292 | | conduct risk-limiting audits after all primary, general, and special elections in accordance with the 26 |
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| 293 | 293 | | requirements of this section. Commencing in 2020, the state board, in conjunction with local 27 |
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| 294 | 294 | | boards, must conduct risk-limiting audits after the presidential preference primary and general 28 |
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| 295 | 295 | | elections in accordance with the requirements in this section. 29 |
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| 296 | 296 | | (c) The audit program shall be conducted as follows: 30 |
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| 297 | 297 | | (1) The state board shall determine what local, state, and federal contests are subject to a 31 |
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| 298 | 298 | | risk-limiting audit; 32 |
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| 299 | 299 | | (2) The state board shall provide notice pursuant to chapter 46 of title 42 of the time and 33 |
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| 300 | 300 | | place of the random selection of the audit units to be manually tallied and of the times and places 34 |
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| 301 | 301 | | |
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| 302 | 302 | | |
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| 303 | 303 | | LC000299 - Page 9 of 11 |
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| 304 | 304 | | of the audits; 1 |
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| 305 | 305 | | (3) The state board shall make available to the public a report of the vote-tabulating device 2 |
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| 306 | 306 | | results for the contest, including the results for each audit unit in the contest, prior to the random 3 |
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| 307 | 307 | | selection of audit units to be manually tallied and prior to the commencement of the audit; 4 |
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| 308 | 308 | | (4) The state board, in conjunction with the local boards, shall conduct the audit upon 5 |
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| 309 | 309 | | tabulation of the unofficial final results as provided in §§ 17-19-36 and 17-19-37 or, for a 6 |
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| 310 | 310 | | presidential preference primary conducted pursuant to chapter 12.1 of title 17, as provided in 7 |
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| 311 | 311 | | applicable rule; and 8 |
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| 312 | 312 | | (5) The state board, in conjunction with the local boards, shall conduct the audit in public 9 |
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| 313 | 313 | | view by manually interpreting the ballots according to rules established by the state board in 10 |
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| 314 | 314 | | accordance with chapter 35 of title 42. 11 |
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| 315 | 315 | | (d) If a risk-limiting audit of a contest leads to a full manual tally of the ballots cast using 12 |
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| 316 | 316 | | the voting system, the vote counts according to that manual tally shall replace the vote counts 13 |
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| 317 | 317 | | reported pursuant to §§ 17-19-36 and 17-19-37 or, for a presidential preference primary conducted 14 |
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| 318 | 318 | | pursuant to chapter 12.1 of title 17, as provided in applicable rule for the purpose of determining 15 |
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| 319 | 319 | | the official contest results pursuant to §§ 17-22-5.2 and 17-22-6 or the official contest results for a 16 |
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| 320 | 320 | | presidential preference primary conducted pursuant to chapter 12.1 of title 17. 17 |
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| 321 | 321 | | (e) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: 18 |
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| 322 | 322 | | (1) “Audit unit” means a precinct, a set of ballots, or a single ballot. A precinct, a set of 19 |
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| 323 | 323 | | ballots, or a single ballot may be used as an audit unit for purposes of this section only if all of the 20 |
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| 324 | 324 | | following conditions are satisfied: 21 |
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| 325 | 325 | | (i) The relevant vote-tabulating device is able to produce a report of the votes cast in the 22 |
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| 326 | 326 | | precinct, set of ballots, or single ballot; and 23 |
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| 327 | 327 | | (ii) Each ballot is assigned to not more than one audit unit. 24 |
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| 328 | 328 | | (2) “Contest” means an election for an office or for a measure. 25 |
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| 329 | 329 | | (3) “Risk-limiting audit” means a manual tally employing a statistical method that ensures 26 |
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| 330 | 330 | | a large, predetermined minimum chance of requiring a full manual tally whenever a full manual 27 |
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| 331 | 331 | | tally would show an electoral outcome that differs from the outcome reported by the vote-tabulating 28 |
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| 332 | 332 | | system for the audited contest. A risk-limiting audit shall begin with a hand tally of the votes in one 29 |
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| 333 | 333 | | or more audit units and shall continue to hand tally votes in additional audit units until there is 30 |
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| 334 | 334 | | strong statistical evidence that the electoral outcome is correct. In the event that counting additional 31 |
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| 335 | 335 | | audit units does not provide strong statistical evidence that the electoral outcome is correct, the 32 |
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| 336 | 336 | | audit shall continue until there has been a full manual tally to determine the correct electoral 33 |
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| 337 | 337 | | outcome of the audited contest. 34 |
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| 338 | 338 | | |
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| 339 | 339 | | |
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| 340 | 340 | | LC000299 - Page 10 of 11 |
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| 341 | 341 | | (4) “Unofficial final results” means election results tabulated pursuant to §§ 17-19-36 and 1 |
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| 342 | 342 | | 17-19-37 or, for a presidential preference primary conducted pursuant to chapter 12.1 of title 17, 2 |
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| 343 | 343 | | as provided in applicable rule. 3 |
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| 344 | 344 | | (f) The results of any audits conducted under this section shall be published on the website 4 |
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| 345 | 345 | | of the state board within forty-eight (48) hours of being accepted by the state board. If the audit 5 |
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| 346 | 346 | | involved a manual tally of one or more entire precincts, then the names and numbers of all precincts 6 |
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| 347 | 347 | | audited and a comparison of the vote tabulator results with the hand counts for each precinct shall 7 |
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| 348 | 348 | | be published with the audit results on the website. 8 |
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| 349 | 349 | | (g) Any audit required under this section shall not commence for any election subject to a 9 |
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| 350 | 350 | | recount pursuant to §§ 17-12.1-14, 17-19-37.1, 17-19-37.2, and 17-19-37.3 until the conclusion of 10 |
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| 351 | 351 | | said recount. 11 |
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| 352 | 352 | | (h) The state board shall promulgate rules, regulations, and procedures in accordance with 12 |
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| 353 | 353 | | chapter 35 of title 42 necessary to implement this section. 13 |
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| 354 | 354 | | SECTION 10. Nothing in this act shall be construed or implemented in a manner that would 14 |
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| 355 | 355 | | effectively foreclose the use of or substantially increase the cost of adopting a ballot structure or 15 |
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| 356 | 356 | | voting system compatible with fusion voting. For the purposes of this act, fusion voting is an 16 |
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| 357 | 357 | | electoral system that allows two (2) or more political parties to indicate their endorsement of a 17 |
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| 358 | 358 | | single candidate for office on the ballot. 18 |
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| 359 | 359 | | SECTION 11. If any provision of this act, or the application of any provision of this act to 19 |
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| 360 | 360 | | any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this act and the 20 |
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| 361 | 361 | | application of its provisions to any person or circumstance shall not be affected by the holding. 21 |
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| 362 | 362 | | SECTION 12. This act shall take effect upon passage. 22 |
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| 364 | 364 | | LC000299 |
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| 366 | 366 | | |
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| 367 | 367 | | |
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| 368 | 368 | | LC000299 - Page 11 of 11 |
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| 369 | 369 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 370 | 370 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 371 | 371 | | OF |
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| 372 | 372 | | A N A C T |
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| 373 | 373 | | RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- PRIMARIES FOR ELECTION OF DELEGATES TO |
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| 374 | 374 | | NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND FOR PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE |
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| 375 | 375 | | *** |
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| 376 | 376 | | This act would establish the ranked choice voting for Rhode Island Presidential primaries 1 |
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| 377 | 377 | | and provides for new sections on ranked choice voting tabulation and results reporting. 2 |
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| 378 | 378 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 3 |
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| 380 | 380 | | LC000299 |
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