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Amore testified before the board, and said the state’s current primary schedule makes it difficult to deal with recounts or election challenges while still complying with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which requires states to send absentee ballots to overseas voters at least 45 days before any election, including primaries.
“Because of the nature of our calendar, it basically gives us a week to deal with all challenges, to make sure that we can provide a ballot that is accurate and get it to our overseas Rhode Islanders, many of whom are serving in the military,” Amore said. “Any deviation of that calendar — a challenge, litigation, multiple recounts — would put us in violation of the MOVE Act. It is a significant concern of ours.”
He noted that the Board of Elections faced pressure to meet the 45-day absentee ballot deadline last year when several municipalities reported fraudulent signatures on the nomination forms for Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos, a Democrat then running to represent Rhode Island’s First Congressional District.
Amore said his proposal would give the Board of Elections a full week to adjudicate any challenges to primary results, it would give the Department of State more time to produce up to 500 different ballots, and it would give local boards of canvassers more time to prepare and test voting machines, he said.
“We think in all of these ways, it benefits the voters of Rhode Island, it benefits the administrative process in Rhode Island, and it makes for a better election system,” he said.
Some legislators have raised concerns about moving the primaries to August, saying that many Rhode Islanders would still be focused on summer vacations and beach activities rather than politics and elections.
But Amore said 12 others states, including Connecticut, hold primaries in August, so Rhode Island would not be alone.
The proposal would include allowing candidates to declare their candidacies in May, and it would extend the period to gather nomination signatures from 10 days to three weeks, he said. “We think that will also take pressure off the system,” he said.
Amore said another section of the proposal would address issues that arose during the investigation of the nomination signatures for Matos.
For example, the bill would require local canvassing clerks to immediately notify the Board of Elections if they suspect a “consistent pattern of forgery” on the nomination papers of a local, state, or federal candidate. The board could then immediately analyze those signatures or have local officials reexamine the signatures, he said.
“But importantly, the board would also contact the 38 other cities and towns and let them know what was going on, to be aware of that situation,” Amore said. “So if we were in the midst of the process, as we were the last time around, there could be an immediate response to that.”
On July 21, the Board of Elections determined that Matos, a Providence Democrat, qualified to appear on the Sept. 5 primary ballot, basing that decision on the 730 signatures validated by local boards of canvassers — which was more than the 500 required for ballot placement.
A Board of Elections review found “no obvious pattern of fraud” in the 1,256 nomination signatures submitted for Matos. But she ended up finishing fourth in the Democratic primary for the First Congressional District seat.
On Tuesday, the board also approved entering a contract with Election Systems & Software Inc. for election support services from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2027.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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