AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- GENERAL STATE OFFICERS -- NON-PARTISAN ELECTION OF SECRETARY OF STATE (Proposes an amendment to the State Constitution, Article IV, Section 1, that would allow a non-partisan election of the secretary of state, commencing with the 2030 election.)

H7786

2026 -- H 7786
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LC003599
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- GENERAL STATE OFFICERS -- NON-PARTISAN
ELECTION OF SECRETARY OF STATE

Introduced By:
Representatives Newberry, Chippendale, Nardone, and Place

Date Introduced:
February 12, 2026

Referred To:
House State Government & Elections
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 17-2-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-2 entitled "General State
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Officers" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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17-2-1. General officers enumerated — Election and terms.
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The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and general
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treasurer shall be known as general officers. They shall be elected at a general election,
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quadrennially, in accordance with the provisions of this title, and shall hold their respective offices
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for four (4) years beginning on the first Tuesday of January next succeeding their election and until
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the election and qualification of their respective successors.
Commencing with the election to be
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held in 2030, the secretary of state shall be elected in a non-partisan election, without any party
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label, and is not to be nominated or elected as an official representative of a political party.
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SECTION 2. Section 17-12-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-12 entitled "Party
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Committees and Conventions" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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17-12-13. State conventions.
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There shall be held not later than October 14 of every even year a state convention for each
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political party. The nominees of a party for senator and for representatives in congress, for the five
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(5) general offices, and for membership in the general assembly shall be delegates to the state
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convention of that party. In presidential election years, these conventions shall select the party
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nominees for presidential electors and their names shall be placed on the ballot for the forthcoming

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election.
Commencing with the election to be held in 2030, the secretary of state shall be elected in
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a non-partisan election, without any party label, and is not to be nominated or elected as an official
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representative of a political party.
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SECTION 3. Section 17-14-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-14 entitled "Nomination
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of Party and Independent Candidates" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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17-14-1. Declarations of candidacy.
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During the last consecutive Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in June in the even years
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and during the thirty-ninth (39th) and fortieth (40th) days preceding a primary election for a special
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election for state or local office, or for an election for state or local office regularly scheduled for a
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time other than the biennial general statewide election, or during the sixty-seventh (67th) and sixty-
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eighth (68th) days preceding a primary election for a special election for federal office, or for an
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election for federal office regularly scheduled for a time other than the biennial general statewide
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election, each voter desiring to be a candidate at the upcoming primary or an independent candidate
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on final nomination papers shall, on a form that shall be provided by the secretary of state, file a
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declaration of their candidacy not later than four o’clock (4:00) p.m. of the last day for the filing
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with the secretary of state for congressional and statewide general offices, or with the local board
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of the place of the candidate’s voting residence for general assembly, or state committee or
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senatorial and representative district committee, or with the appropriate local board for local
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officers. The declaration shall be signed by the candidate as the candidate’s name appears on the
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voting list. The signature shall be accepted as valid if it can be reasonably identified to be the name
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and signature of the voter it purports to be. A variation of the voter’s signature by the insertion or
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omission of identifying titles or by the substitution of initials for the first or middle names or both
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shall not in itself be grounds for invalidation of the signature. The declaration shall also include the
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following information:
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(1) The candidate’s name as it appears on the voting list, subject to the same provisions as
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relate to the voter’s signature on the declaration;
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(2) The address as it appears on the voting list, provided that an address that is substantially
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the same as the address on the voting list shall be valid;
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(3) The party declaration if seeking to run in a party primary;
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(4) The office sought;
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(5) The place and date of birth;
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(6) The length of residence in the state and in the town or city where the candidate resides;
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(7) A certification that the candidate is neither serving a sentence, including probation or
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parole, for which the candidate was imprisoned upon final conviction of a felony imposed on any

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date nor serving any sentence, whether incarcerated or suspended, on probation or parole, upon
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final conviction of a felony committed after November 5, 1986;
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(8) A certification that the candidate has not been lawfully adjudicated to be non compos
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mentis, of unsound mind;
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(9) In the case of candidates for party nomination, a certification that the candidate has not
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been a member of a political party other than the declared party within ninety (90) days of the filing
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date, except in the case of candidates for party nomination for a special election for federal office,
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or for an election for federal office regularly scheduled for a time other than the biennial general
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statewide election, that person shall not have been a member of a political party other than the
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declared political party within thirty (30) days of the filing of their declaration of candidacy;
and
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(10) If a person is a candidate for a state or local office, a certification that the person has
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not within the preceding three (3) years served any sentence, incarcerated or suspended, on
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probation or parole, for a crime committed after November 5, 1986, upon a plea of nolo contendere
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or guilty or upon a conviction of a felony or for a misdemeanor for which a sentence of
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imprisonment for six (6) months or more, whether suspended or to be served was imposed
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; and
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(11) Commencing with the election to be held in 2030, the secretary of state shall be elected
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in a non-partisan election, without any party label, and is not to be nominated or elected as an
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official representative of a political party and shall follow the procedure set forth for independent
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candidates set forth herein.
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SECTION 4. Section 42-8-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-8 entitled "Department of
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State" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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42-8-1. Head of department — Duties.
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(a)
There shall be a department of state. The head of the department of state shall be the
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secretary of state. The secretary of state shall perform the duties required by this chapter and by
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chapter 2 of title 6; chapters 1 to 4, inclusive, of title 7; chapters 16, 19, and 20 of title 17; chapters
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3 and 10 of title 22; chapters 1 to 3 and 4, of title 29; chapter 1 of title 36; chapter 7 of title 37;
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chapter 30 of this title; chapters 1 and 2 of title 43; chapter 6 of title 44; and any and all other
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provisions of the general laws and public laws insofar as such powers and duties relate to the
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secretary of state and the department of state.
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(b) Commencing with the election to be held in 2030, the attorney general shall be elected
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in a non-partisan election, without any party label, and is not to be nominated or elected as an
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official representative of a political party.

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SECTION 5. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2030.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- GENERAL STATE OFFICERS -- NON-PARTISAN
ELECTION OF SECRETARY OF STATE
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This act would provide for the non-partisan election of the secretary of state, commencing
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with the 2030 election.
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This act would take effect on January 1, 2030.
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