AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- NOMINATION OF PARTY AND INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES -- DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY AND PRIMARY VOTES (Sets an earlier deadline from June to April for filing of declaration of candidacy and nomination papers.)

S3043

2026 -- S 3043
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- NOMINATION OF PARTY AND INDEPENDENT
CANDIDATES -- DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY AND PRIMARY VOTES

Introduced By:
Senators Raptakis, Burke, de la Cruz, Quezada, Thompson, Tikoian,
DiPalma, Ciccone, Urso, and Zurier

Date Introduced:
March 05, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Sections 17-14-1, 17-14-11 and 17-14-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-
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14 entitled "Nomination of Party and Independent Candidates" are hereby amended to read as
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follows:
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17-14-1. Declarations of candidacy.
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During the
last

first
consecutive Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in
June

April
in the
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even years and during the thirty-ninth (39th) and fortieth (40th) days preceding a primary election
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for a special election for state or local office, or for an election for state or local office regularly
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scheduled for a time other than the biennial general statewide election, or during the sixty-seventh
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(67th) and sixty-eighth (68th) days preceding a primary election for a special election for federal
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office, or for an election for federal office regularly scheduled for a time other than the biennial
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general statewide election, each voter desiring to be a candidate at the upcoming primary or an
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independent candidate on final nomination papers shall, on a form that shall be provided by the
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secretary of state, file a declaration of their candidacy not later than four o’clock (4:00) p.m. of the
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last day for the filing with the secretary of state for congressional and statewide general offices, or
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with the local board of the place of the candidate’s voting residence for general assembly, or state
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committee or senatorial and representative district committee, or with the appropriate local board
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for local officers. The declaration shall be signed by the candidate as the candidate’s name appears
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on the voting list. The signature shall be accepted as valid if it can be reasonably identified to be

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the name and signature of the voter it purports to be. A variation of the voter’s signature by the
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insertion or omission of identifying titles or by the substitution of initials for the first or middle
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names or both shall not in itself be grounds for invalidation of the signature. The declaration shall
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also include the 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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17-14-11. Checking and certification of nomination papers — Challenge.
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(a) Each nomination paper for party and independent candidates shall be submitted before
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four o’clock (4:00) p.m. on the sixtieth (60th) day before the primary to the local board of the city
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or town where the signers appear to be voters or, in the case of special elections for state and local
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office, on the twenty-eighth (28th) day before the primary, or in the case of special elections for

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federal office, on the fifty-third (53rd) day before the primary. Nomination papers for independent
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presidential candidates and presidential candidates of political parties, other than those defined in
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§ 17-1-2(9), shall be filed not later than
sixty (60)

ninety (90)
days prior to the general election.
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Each local board shall immediately proceed to check signatures on each nomination paper filed
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with it against the voting list as last canvassed or published according to law.
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(b) The local boards shall certify a sufficient number of names appearing on the nomination
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papers that are in conformity with the requirements of § 17-14-8 to qualify the candidate for a
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position on the ballot, and after considering any challenge under this section and, if necessary,
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certifying any additional valid names, shall immediately file nomination papers for statewide
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office, general assembly, and state and district committee candidates with the secretary of state;
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provided, that nomination papers for local candidates shall be retained by the local board.
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(c) If any candidate or an individual presenting written authorization from the candidate,
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or the chairperson of any party committee questions the validity or authenticity of any signature on
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the nomination paper, the local board shall immediately and summarily decide the question, and
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for this purpose, shall have the same powers as are conferred upon the board by the provisions of
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§ 17-14-14.
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(d) If any challenged signature is found to be invalid, for any reason in law, or forged, then
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the signature shall not be counted.
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(e) The local canvassing clerk shall immediately notify the state board in writing and via
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electronic mail if the local canvassing clerk suspects a consistent pattern of forgery as prescribed
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by § 17-23-17 on the nomination papers of a local, state, or federal candidate.
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(1) The state board, upon notification of allegations of any consistent pattern of suspected
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forged signatures on nomination papers of a local, state, or federal candidate, shall review the
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allegations and, if determined to be with reasonable cause, shall, as soon as feasible notify all
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corresponding local canvassing clerks of the allegations of suspected forgery.
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(2) The state board, if it deems necessary, shall order a review of all nomination papers of
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a local, state, or federal candidate whose nomination papers include a consistent pattern of
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suspected forged signatures as prescribed in this subsection. The state board, in consultation with
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the Elections Committee of the Rhode Island Town and City Clerks’ Association, shall promulgate
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rules and regulations on the process to review nomination papers of a local, state, or federal
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candidate whose nomination papers include a consistent pattern of suspected forged signatures as
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prescribed in this subsection.
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(3) The state board shall explicitly determine and deliver, in writing and via electronic mail
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to the secretary of state, the findings of the review of the local, state, or federal candidate whose

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nomination papers include suspected forged signatures as prescribed in this subsection, and whether
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the determination affects a candidate’s qualification for a position on the ballot.
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17-14-12. Filing of nomination papers.
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All nomination papers for state offices or officers and all certified lists of candidates for
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local offices or officers shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state (the certified lists by the
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respective local boards), not later than
fifty-four (54)

eight-four (84)
days before the date of the
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primary held to nominate candidates for general election; but when there is a primary to nominate
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candidates for any office mentioned in § 17-15-7 to be voted upon at a special election for state and
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local office, all nomination papers and lists of local candidates shall be filed in the office on or
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before the twenty-sixth (26th) day preceding the day of the special primary election, or when there
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is a primary to nominate candidates for any office listed in § 17-15-7 to be voted upon at a special
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election for federal office, all nomination papers and lists of local candidates shall be filed in the
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office on or before the forty-nineth (49th) day preceding the day of the special primary election.
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Nomination papers for independent presidential candidates and presidential candidates of political
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parties other than those defined in § 17-1-2(9) shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state
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by the local boards of canvassers not later than
fifty-four (54)

eight-four (84)
days before the date
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of the election.
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SECTION 2. Section 17-15-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-15 entitled "Primary
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Elections" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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17-15-1. Date of primaries.
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A primary election for the nomination of candidates for each political party shall be held
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in each voting district in the manner provided in this chapter on the
eighth

second
Tuesday
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preceding biennial state elections

after the first Monday in September in each even numbered year
.
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SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- NOMINATION OF PARTY AND INDEPENDENT
CANDIDATES -- DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY AND PRIMARY VOTES
***
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This act would set an earlier deadline from June to April for filing of declaration of
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candidacy and nomination papers It would delay the filing of nomination papers from fifty-four
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(54) days to eighty-four (84) days, before the date of the primary. It would also change the date of
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primary elections, from the eighth Tuesday preceding the biennial state elections to the second
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Tuesday.
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This act would take effect on January 1, 2027
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