2020 General Election
Turnout rate (VEP)
0
%
Votes cast from mailed-out ballots
0
%
2016 General Election
Turnout rate (VEP)
0
%
Votes cast from mailed out ballots
0
%
State election policies as of 2022...
Full Vote-at-Home
0/10
Full Vote-at-Home
Voter automatically mailed ballot for every election
No Excuse Required
6/6
No Excuse Required
No excuse to vote from home
Single Sign-Up
1/6
Single Sign-Up
Voter signs up once to receive mail ballot for all future elections
Local Vote-at-Home Option
0/5
Local VAH Option
Local governments have discretion to conduct full vote-at-home elections
Online Mail Ballot Sign-Up
0/2
Online Mail Ballot Sign-Up
Voter can apply for mail ballot online
Ballot Tracking
4/4
Ballot Tracking
Voter can receive ballot status notifications.
In-Person Ballot Return
4/5
In-Person Ballot Return
Voter has multiple options to return mail ballot in person
Signature Verification
4/5
Signature Verification
Voter signature verified before ballot is counted
Ballot Cure Process
4/4
Ballot Cure Process
Voter can correct issues so ballot can be counted
Prepaid Postage
4/4
Prepaid Postage
Postage-paid return envelopes provided
Election Day Postmark Acceptance
0/4
Election Day Postmark Acceptance
Ballots postmarked by Election Day are accepted
In-Person Voting
2/4
In-Person Return
Physical locations for voters to vote and receive assistance
Pre-Processing
0/3
Signature Verification
Ballots are verified and scanned before Election Day
Mail Ballot Applications
2/2
Mail Ballot Applications
Election officials can mail ballot applications to all voters eligible to vote from home
Ballot Return Assistance
2/2
Ballot Return Assistance
Voters may receive assistance to return their mail ballot
Opportunities
Expanding Rhode Island’s permanent absentee option to all residents and making the list truly permanent would save the state money on application postage as well as administrative costs for processing multiple requests for a single voter.
Creating an online portal for voters to request an absentee ballot that feeds directly into the voter registration system is an important step to help verify addresses, collect contact information, and to remove administrative steps to process a large amount of requests. It can also serve as an up to date source of information for voters. We encourage an integrated process that allows new voters to register, current voters to make changes to their address and make requests for ballots in a seamless manner.
Rhode Island already has drop boxes and allows drop off at election offices; adding polling place drop off and vote centers would further lessen the reliance on the postal service and increase voter convenience and confidence.
Rhode Island should eliminate its witness and notary requirement, as it both raises barriers and is less secure than signature matching.
Expanding accepting of ballots with Election Day postmarks received shortly after election day is a best practice to ensure that voters are given all options to vote their ballot in a timely manner, and one that Rhode Island already follows: Rhode Island already offers postmark acceptance for military and overseas voters. Accepting Election Day postmarks is estimated in most jurisdictions to decrease ballot rejection rates by half. In most jurisdictions, accept postmarked ballots decreases ballot rejection rates by half.
Ballot tracking software such as Ballot Scout or BallotTrax can be a very cost effective tool to improve Rhode Island’s current ballot tracking and increase voter confidence by allowing voters and the election offices to track ballots and serving as another modality to contact voters if there is a signature mismatch or deficiency on their return envelope. An expanded notification system helps keep rejection rates low and increases voter confidence.
Same-day voter registration would improve upon Rhode Island’s automatic voter registration to ensure that any eligible resident who wasn’t automatically registered and wants to cast a ballot in an election can.
Recent Legislation
As of August 16, 2021
In 2020, major changes to the election system did not come through the legislature, but, rather, through executive orders from the Governor’s office, orders from the Secretary of State, and court orders. The Governor postponed the state’s April primary to June and ordered that it be conducted primarily by mail. An order from the Secretary of State instructed that mail ballot applications be sent to all eligible voters for the primary. Later, a Rhode Island judge suspended the requirement that voters fill out a mail ballot in the presence of two witnesses or a notary. This decision was later upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States.
In 2021, the Rhode Island legislature did not enact any new laws regarding elections.
Last Updated