elections.state.ri.us Upcoming Elections 2015/16 : Rhode Island Board

Organization : Rhode Island Board of Elections
Facility : Upcoming Elections
State : Rhode Island
Country : United States

Upcoming Elections : http://www.elections.state.ri.us/elections/upcoming/index.php
Home Page : http://www.elections.state.ri.us/

Date | Coverage | Election Type | Voter Registration Deadline | Mail Ballot Application Deadline :
11/10/15 Richmond Referendum 10/11/15 10/20/15
11/10/15 Westerly Referendum 10/11/15 10/20/15
12/01/15 Senate Dist.11 Primary 11/01/15 11/10/15
12/15/15 Barrington Election 11/15/15 11/24/15
01/05/16 Senate Dist. 11 Election 12/06/15 12/15/15
01/05/16 E. Greenwich Election 12/06/15 12/15/15
04/26/16 Statewide Primary 03/27/16 04/05/16
09/13/16 Statewide Primary 08/14/16 08/23/16
11/08/16 Statwwide General 10/09/16 10/18/16

** An emergency mail ballot can be applied for at the local Board of Canvassers up until 4 p.m. the day before any election.
** To vote in a party primary you must disaffiliate from any other party at least 90 days before the primary date. Declarations of candidacy and related deadlines are administered by the Secretary of State’s Elections & Civics Division.
** There are campaign finance reporting requirements for candidates for public office.

Emergency Mail Ballot :
If circumstances arise within 20 days of the primary or election which prevent you from going to the polls on Election Day, you will be able to vote an emergency mail ballot.
To apply for an emergency mail ballot you must obtain an Emergency Mail Ballot application from your local board of canvassers and return it to them by 4:00 P.M. the day before the election.
All mail ballots must be received by the State Board of Elections at 50 Branch Avenue Providence, R.I. 02904 by 8:00 P.M. the night of the election.

Primary and General Elections :
What type of Primary election does the state of Rhode Island conduct? :
Rhode Island has a ‘semi-closed’ party primary system. This means that you may only vote in your party’s primary, but if you are registered as “Unaffiliated” you may vote in the primary of any party you choose. Once you vote in a primary, however, you are considered a member of that party until and unless you “disaffiliate”. You may do this by signing a “Change of Party Designation” form at the polling place after you vote or by submitting a new voter registration form at any time. The disaffiliation takes effect in 90 days. If you indicated a party preference when you registered to vote, you may only vote in that party’s primary. If you wish to vote in another party’s primary, you must disaffiliate at least 90 days before the primary date.

When does my polling place open? When does it close? :
See our Polling Place Hours of Operations page.

Who chooses poll workers? Who pays poll workers? :
Poll workers are chosen and paid by the Local Boards of Canvassers in each city and town. They must attend a training session conducted by the RI Board of Elections.

Who regulates political signage of private property? :
The Board of Elections does not regulate the placement of signange, expect within 50 feet of the entrance to the polling place building on Election Day. Some cities and towns have ordinances in place which regulate any type of signage on private property. You should contact your local Board of Canvassers for further information.

Who regulates political signage of public property? :
The Board of Elections does not regulate the placement of political signange, expect within 50 feet of the entrance to the polling place building on Election Day. If a sign is on public property, you should contact the state or municipal agency responsible for maintaining the facility or road. For state highways and roads, contact the Department of Transportation at (401) 222-2450

Election Results :
When will the results from polling places be available? :
In statewide elections, the Board of Elections will usually begin posting the results of votes after 8:15 p.m. and continue to update them approximately every 15 minutes until all polling places have reported. Results for local special elections may be obtained by contacting the local Board of Canvassers.

When will mail ballot results be available? :
In statewide elections, the Board of Elections commences tabulating mail ballots shortly after the close of the polls on election night. Mail ballot results are added to candidate totals only after all mail ballots cast in the state have been counted. It is expected that the tabulation process will continue into the day following the election and the results will be available sometime that day. Results for local special elections may be obtained by contacting the local Board of Canvassers.

When will provisional ballot results be available? :
The Board of Elections commences tabulation of provisional ballots approximately 48 hours following the election. Provisional ballot results are added into the mail ballot totals.

What are Final Unofficial Results and when will they be available? :
All results are “Unofficial” until all ballots have been tabulated. Results are declared to be “Final Unofficial Results” when all ballots have been tabulated but recounts and hearings have yet to be conducted (see “Official Results” below.) “Final Unofficial Results” are expected to be available within 24 hours after the close of the polls. When the results page displays “Final Results”, usually several weeks after the election, these are the final certified results.

When is the election certified and Official Results declared? :
The Board of Elections cannot certify the election results as “official” until after all recounts and hearings have been conducted. Generally, due to the time frame permitted by law for candidates to file requests for recounts and hearings and depending on the number of recounts and hearings scheduled, it takes up to two weeks after the date of the election for the results to be certified as “official.” When the results page displays “Final Results”, usually several weeks after the election, these are the final certified results.

Will the results of Write-in votes be available? :
There are no write-in votes in a primary. The total number of write-in votes cast in the general election will be available as part of the Board of Elections election reporting. However, as the state board and each local board of canvassers must manually determine for whom write-in votes were cast, the number of votes received by an individual will not be available until several weeks after the election when local boards of canvassers report the number of such votes each person received.

Nomination Papers :
Who may sign a candidate’s nomination papers? :
Any eligible voter from within the district in which the candidate is seeking election may sign the candidate’s nomination papers. Eligible voters are those persons who are eligible to vote at the time of signing nomination papers. Eligible voters are those persons who have been registered to vote at least 30 days prior to signing a candidate’s nomination papers.

Who may obtain signatures on a candidates nomination papers? :
Any person 18 years of age of older may obtain signatures. The person does not need to be a registered voter or a resident of Rhode Island.

Who is required to complete the affidavit, which appears on the back page of the candidate’s nomination papers? :
The person who obtains the signatures of voters on the nomination papers must complete and sign the affidavit that states:
“I __________ (name of person obtaining signatures), of the City or Town of _________ (name of city or town of person obtaining signatures), under oath make affidavit and say that the signers within nomination paper(s) did so sign the same in my presence.” The affidavit must be subscribed and sworn before a notary public.

If a candidate has other individuals collect signatures for him, can the candidate complete the affidavit, which appears on the back page of the candidate’s nomination papers? :
No. The person who directly collected the signatures must complete the affidavit.

Can a candidate or someone else “supervise” collection of signatures, and complete the affidavit, which appears on the back page of the candidate’s nomination paper? :
(i.e. being on the same residential street while the “supervised” individuals go door-to-door on that street.)
The person completing the affidavit must be physically in the presence of every person signing the nomination papers. Therefore, the person going door-to door with the nomination papers would need to complete the affidavit.

Can a set of the candidate’s nomination papers be circulated by more than one individual? :
No, because the affidavit which appears on the back page of the candidate’s nomination papers can only be completed by the one person who collected all the signatures contained on it. If a candidate has multiple individuals collecting signatures for him/her, he should create duplicate sets for each person (see question on duplicates in this document).

Can a voter sign more than one candidate’s nomination papers? :
Yes. A voter may sign the nomination papers of more than one candidate.

Must a voter signing a candidate’s nomination papers be eligible to vote in the candidate’s primary? :
Any eligible voter from within the district in which the candidate is seeking election may sign the nomination papers regardless of their party affiliation.

Does signing a candidate’s nomination papers make that voter a member of the candidate’s party? :
No. The person’s party affiliation is not affected.

If a voter signs the nomination papers of a candidate who is seeking election to an office in a district other than that of the voter’s, will that signature be “counted” as valid? :
No. Only those signatures obtained from eligible voters within the district in which the candidate is seeking election will be “counted” as valid.

If an eligible voter from a Town A signs a candidate’s nomination papers which are ultimately submitted to the Board of Canvassers in Town B, will that voter’s signature be “counted” as valid in either Town A or Town B? :
No. Only those signatures of eligible voters in the city or town in which the nomination papers submitted will be valid (i.e. If an eligible voter from Johnston signs a candidate’s nomination papers which are ultimately submitted to Cranston, the Board of Canvassers in Cranston will not “count” that signature and it will be ruled invalid).

Is it possible to have eligible voters from more than one community sign a single nomination paper and have all the signatures ruled as valid? :
No. Only those signatures of eligible voters in the city or town in which the nomination paper is submitted will be valid. There is no validating or cross-checking of signatures among communities or with the Office of the Secretary of State.

Is it permissible to make copies of blank nomination papers and gather signatures on them? :
Yes. Candidates for the legislature and local office may, at their own expense, have nomination papers duplicated. However, the signatures obtained on the duplicated nomination papers shall be considered valid if, and only if, PRIOR to any signatures being affixed, the duplicated nomination papers have been time-stamped by the Office of the Secretary of State or local Board of Canvassers which issued the original nomination papers.