Current through September 18, 2024
A. "Affiliated" or "Affiliation" means to be
a member of a designated political party.
B. "Ballot application" means an application
issued to a voter in which they must certify their name and home address as
their own, and before they are issued an official ballot. This includes
precinct ballot applications, mail ballot applications, and provisional ballot
applications.
C. "Board of
Canvassers" or "Local Board" means a town or city board of canvassers, board of
canvassers and registration, canvassing authority, or any other local board,
commission, or officer empowered by law to have custody of the permanent
registration records.
D.
"Disaffiliate" or "Disaffiliation" means to remove or change party
affiliation.
E. "Participate" or
"Participation" means to complete and sign a ballot application. Even if a
voter does not cast a ballot in the primary, a signed ballot application will
constitute participation, and the Local Board shall record the voter's
affiliation.
F. "Party" or
"Political party" means:
1. any political
organization which, at the next preceding general election for the election of
general officers, nominated a candidate for governor, and whose candidate for
governor at the election polled at least five percent (5%) of the entire vote
cast in the state for governor, or
2. any political organization which at the
next preceding general election for the election of a president of the United
States nominated a candidate for president and whose candidate for president at
the election polled at least five percent (5%) of the entire vote cast in the
state for president, or
3. any
political organization which, on petition forms provided to the chairperson of
the organization by the state board of elections, obtains the signatures and
addresses of that number of registered qualified voters equal to five percent
(5%) of the entire vote cast in the state for governor or president in the
immediately preceding general election. All the signatures must be obtained no
earlier than January 1 of the year in which the political organization desires
to place a candidate or candidates on any ballot as a "party" candidate. If the
political organization wishes to select its nominees in a primary election, the
petitions, bearing the requisite number of valid signatures, shall be presented
to the appropriate local boards of canvassers no later than June 1 of the same
year. If the petitions are validated by the local boards as containing the
requisite number of valid signatures, the political organization shall be
deemed to be a political party for all elections held during the year and may
select its nominees in a primary election. If the political organization does
not wish to select its nominees in a primary election, then the petitions need
not be returned to local boards of canvassers until August 1 of the same year.
An organization qualifying as a political party through the petition process
shall qualify as a political party only during the year in which signatures are
obtained unless the candidates for governor or president of the United States
of the party at a general election held in the year, shall receive five percent
(5%) of the vote as provided in this subdivision for either governor or
president of the United States. If the candidates do not receive five percent
(5%) of the vote, the organization shall no longer qualify as a political party
unless and until it shall, in a subsequent year, once again qualify by the
submission of petitions;
G. "Precinct" means the geographical
subdivision within a City/Town assigned to voters pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws
§
17-11-1.
H. "Primary election" means any election to
select the candidates of a political party
