Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s Response to Voting Restrictions and January 6 Riots

Election Law Society · October 21, 2022 ·

By Susanna Clark

The Rhode Island legislature recently passed the “Let Rhode Island Vote Act,” which was signed into law by the Governor on June 8, 2022. The law contains several measures intended to make voting easier for Rhode Islanders. This comes at a time when several other states like Georgia, Iowa, and Florida have enacted measures to make it more difficult to vote. The lieutenant governor cited COVID-19 and the January 6 riots as reasons for the new law. One of these measures removes the requirement that mail-in ballots be filled out either before a notary public or before two witnesses. Another established a virtual portal that allows voters to apply for the mail-in ballot online, rather than having to fill out their application in person or mail in the form. Furthermore, the statute removes the requirement that voters provide a justification for obtaining a mail-in ballot. The Act further eases restrictions regarding emergency mail-in ballot applications. Moreover, a new telephone hotline provides information on voter registration, the voting process, and polling locations.

Bloomberg News assessed Rhode Island’s election system. Bloomberg found that while Rhode Island’s election system scored well in terms of ballot security, it could still make improvements in the voting category. While the article does indicate that the Act includes online registration, no-excuse early or mail-in voting, and online ballot tracking, it is important to note that the Act does not include some considerable items that other states have implemented to further ease restrictions. These measures include election-day registration, automatic registration (at an agency other than the DMV), a permanent mail-voter list, and voting supercenters (that allow anyone to vote regardless of their precinct). These measures have become more significant in the wake of accusations of election security violations and fraud, propagated mainly by Trump-supporting Republicans.

The former president of the United States infamously claimed that widespread voter fraud ran rampant during the 2020 election. He specifically targeted mail-in voting, which was highly utilized in 2020, likely due to COVID-19. These issues have been highly politicized, especially because of the January 6 riots, which was an attempt by Trump supporters to prevent Congress from confirming the outcome of the 2020 election. This appears to be a notable reason why the legislature passed this bill—to ensure that people who want to vote by mail are able to do so. Bloomberg also measuredhow Rhode Island responded to the 2020 election in other ways. Rhode Island followed its normal auditing and re-count procedures, it did not modify its criminal penalties for election officials, and it did not join a lawsuit attempting to induce the Supreme Court to overturn the election. Furthermore, all of its representatives in Congress voted to certify the election results.

The Rhode Island legislature and governor likely felt it was necessary to take a stronger stance against the allegations of fraud through this Act’s implementation. The decision whether to expand or restrict voting falls almost strictly along party lines. Rhode Island has a Democratic majority in its legislature and a Democratic governor, and the states that passed laws restricting voting have been majority Republican. Voting laws have always been somewhat partisan, but it seems the parties have become even more divided on the ways elections ought to be conducted. It remains to be seen whether the Let Rhode Island Vote Act will increase voter turnout in the midterm elections this November.

A Bonus Seat for the Ocean State?

Election Law Society · February 9, 2022 ·

By: Peter Quinn

It would probably surprise most Americans that tiny Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state by area, has been afforded at least two members of the House of Representatives since the 1790s. The census reapportionment process has been very kind to the state as of late, resulting in the state retaining its current two seats for the last ten censuses, losing a third seat during the Great Depression. This is especially stark when compared to Delaware, with only about 100,000 fewer people than Rhode Island but bereft of multiple Representatives throughout its history other than from 1813-23.

In the run-up to the 2020 Census, however, Rhode Islanders began to worry that their population growth was not keeping pace with other states, or at least not enough to guarantee the continued existence of its second seat. With the state controlled by Democrats, including the holders of both House seats, a potentially ugly fight was brewing that would determine who would become the standard-bearer when the two districts consolidated.

Are Rhode Island’s Mail-In Ballots a “Gigantic, Illegal Loophole?”

Election Law Society · April 11, 2018 ·

By: Eric Lynch

Ken Block, a two-time former gubernatorial candidate, made headlines in early October 2017 over a provocative tweet regarding voter identification (“voter-ID”) and mail-in ballots. Mr. Block claimed that mail-in ballots violated Rhode Island’s voter-ID law and are effectively a “gigantic, illegal loophole” to performing widespread voter fraud. Block implored the Rhode Island legislature to attend to this matter immediately. In response, Mr. Stephen Erickson, a Rhode Island State Board of Elections member, considered such a measure as “another effort to limit people’s ability to vote.” Mr. Erickson asserted that the Board “regularly rejects mail[-in] ballots where there is a substantial difference between the two signatures or if the witnesses does not provide enough information so that they can be identified and questioned.”

Passing Your Vote Through Security: The Rise of Risk Limiting Audits in Rhode Island

Election Law Society · January 29, 2018 ·

By: Eric Lynch

In the 2016 election’s aftermath, United States intelligence agencies speculated that the Russian government hacked various government entities and the major political parties in order to influence the election’s results. It was recently confirmed that twenty-one states were subject to that foreign attack. Experts cautioned states to take responsive measures since many states take little to no precaution at all.

Big commission for a small state

Election Law Society · March 5, 2012 ·

Q&A with John Marion of Common Cause on Redistricting in Rhode Island

1. Can you describe the work the Special Commission on Reapportionment has done?

“They’ve met, six times so far. Going around the state, taking testimony from people concerning what the map should look like. But the Commission has not publicly presented any maps. Starting next week it is expected that they will present three or more sets of maps and take them around the state seeking input from the public. They are required by law to choose a plan which is a set of maps and then the legislature has to vote.”

2. What could the Commission do to improve the quality of elections for Rhode Islanders?

“They could continue to do what they seem to be doing, which is taking public input. Besides the public hearings the Commission is allowing members of the public to use the computers that will be used to do the redistricting and draw their own maps and submit them.”

“The Commission should also be publicly debating and trying to rank the criteria that they plan to use and consider when drawing the plans. There are many different legal criteria that must be satisfied but also political criteria that may be taken into account including political competiveness considerations.”

3. What about the process by which the Commission was picked? [Read more…] about Big commission for a small state