Title 17, Title 17 Title 17

All printed matter, stationery, and supplies required to be furnished by this chapter shall be delivered to or picked up by the proper officer as determined by the state board not later than 12:00 p.m. the day before the election for which they are to be used. Computer ballots to…

The local board may designate suitable and adequate times and places where optical scan voting equipment and sample ballots showing titles of offices to be filled and, so far as practicable, the names of candidates to be voted for at the next election shall be exhibited for the p…

(a) Prior to any election at which optical scan precinct count voting units are to be used, including those that are accessible for voters who are blind, visually impaired, or disabled, the secretary of state shall prepare the layout and format of the computer ballot in conjuncti…

The state board may appoint and issue commissions to qualified electors of this state to be election inspectors assigned to some or all election polling places. On the day before any election, the state board may assign an election inspector to one or more polling place as the st…

Each local board shall be responsible for safeguarding the optical scan precinct count units and voting booths delivered to it, and shall properly and safely locate the optical scan precinct count units in the polling places where they are to be used. The local board shall also b…

The warden shall, in company with the clerk and supervisors, before the opening of the polls, unlock each compartment of the optical scan precinct count unit to assure that no computer ballots are contained in any compartment. The warden shall also examine the computer ballot and…

During the time that the polls are open, and until the optical scan precinct count unit and voted computer ballots are finally locked and sealed and the removable keys thereof sealed up for transmission to the state board as provided in this chapter, the optical scan precinct cou…

Subject to the provisions of this chapter, voting equipment that has been procured by the department of administration according to the provisions of this chapter shall be used in all state, city, or town elections, including elections at which amendments to the constitution of t…

In the event the department of administration purchases new voting equipment and services in accordance with § 17-19-3, then any reference in title 17 to optical-scan equipment shall be deemed to refer to the voting equipment then purchased, whether such voting equipment utilizes…

If an optical scan precinct count unit becomes out of order, the warden shall notify the voting equipment technician assigned to respond to those calls. While repairing or otherwise attending to the repair of any voting machine equipment, the voting equipment technician shall dis…

(a) The polling places shall be established, equipped, and furnished with the paraphernalia necessary for the conduct of each election, by the officers and in the manner provided by this title. There shall be placed, outside each polling place, a clearly marked sign to be provide…

Bake sales may be held at polling places as long as conduct does not interfere with the orderly conduct of the scheduled election.

The officers required to furnish and equip any voting place shall also provide a table in the room where the voting is conducted, outside the enclosed space near the first bipartisan pair of supervisors, at which a representative of each recognized political party bearing credent…

Any board which determines that it requires ballots printed in a language other than English, pursuant to the provisions of § 17-19-54(a), shall provide at each polling place at least one individual who is fluent in the language for each language for which those ballots were soug…

The wardens shall: (1) Have general supervision of the voting place; (2) [Deleted by P.L. 2016, ch. 341, § 1 and P.L. 2016, ch. 364, § 1.] (3) Assign and reassign and relieve the bipartisan pairs of supervisors, as the efficient conduct of the election may require; (4) Access the…

(a) All persons who attend and complete a program of instruction for election officials under § 17-7-5(a)(6) shall be issued a certificate by the board of elections. In addition to the compensation to which they are otherwise entitled, these persons shall also be entitled to rece…

Cities and towns are authorized to compensate moderators, clerks, inspectors, supervisors and any other election official at a daily rate in excess of any statutory allowable amount. Any excess shall be the responsibility of the authorizing city or town.

(a) Each person desiring to vote shall provide proof of identification as required by § 17-19-24.2 and state his or her name and residence, including that person’s street address, if he or she has any, to the pair of bi-partisan supervisors, who shall then announce the name and r…

(a) If an individual’s name does not appear on the certified voting list as provided for in § 17-19-24(b) and the individual is eligible to vote in an election for federal office or an election official asserts that the individual is not eligible to vote in the district in which …

(a) Beginning on January 1, 2012, any person claiming to be a registered and eligible voter who desires to vote at a primary election, special election, or general election shall provide proof of identity. For purposes of this section, proof of identity shall be valid if unexpire…

(a) At all elections, a person claiming to be a registered and eligible voter, but who has failed to provide proof of identity pursuant to § 17-19-24.2 shall be allowed to vote a provisional ballot upon executing a provisional ballot voter’s application. All provisional ballots, …

Immediately upon the close of the polls, the bipartisan pair of supervisors shall securely bind, tie, or seal the certified voting list in the manner that shall be required by the state board, and the supervisors shall affix thereon their certificate under oath that the marks wit…

Any person desiring information or assistance in voting on election day shall apply to the warden, who shall instruct the person by the use of the sample ballots. If a voter needs assistance in casting his or her vote itself, and requests this assistance, the warden shall direct …

(a) Any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter’s choice, other than the voter’s employer or agent of that employer, or an officer or agent of the voter’s union. (b) E…

Whenever the identity of any person offering to vote is challenged at the polling place, that person shall be permitted to vote only using a provisional ballot as defined in § 17-19-24.1.

(a) The board of elections shall, in consultation with the office of secretary of state, develop, from time to time, and, in coordination with the general assembly for the purpose of funding procurement, submit specifications to the department of administration that the departmen…

(a) Every polling place shall be situated in a building that can be entered and exited by persons who are disabled or elderly. (b) “Persons who are disabled” for the purpose of this section means a serious impairment of mobility. (c) “Elderly” as used in this section means a pers…

Every polling place shall have a telephone available for the use of any election official for the purpose of carrying out his or her official functions and duties.

Any voter who has registered by making his or her mark rather than his or her signature, or who shall be physically unable to sign his or her name at the time of offering himself or herself to vote, shall identify himself or herself with proof of identity as required under § 17-1…

Ballots voted for any person whose name does not appear on the ballot as a nominated candidate for office are referred to in this section as “irregular ballots.” In voting for presidential electors, a voter may vote an irregular ticket made up of the names of persons in nominatio…

Immediately upon the close of the polls the warden shall, in the presence of the other election or primary election officers and the election inspector, follow the procedure for the closing of the unit set forth by the vendor of the optical scan precinct count unit. The warden an…

(a) The copies of the printout tape from the optical-scan precinct-count unit obtained pursuant to § 17-19-32 shall be distributed as follows: (1) The first copy, which includes the opening of the polling place information, signatures of the warden and clerk, a timed audit trail …

When optical scan precinct count units are used in town elections in towns not divided into voting districts, the warden, after announcing the votes registered by the optical scan precinct count units for the candidates for town offices, and upon questions submitted to the voters…

Under orders of the local board, a police officer shall remain at the voting place until the board, personally or by a custodian, resumes custody of the optical scan precinct count units and voting booths.

The local board shall meet on the day following the election and shall tabulate the town or city election returns, as the case may be, and announce the results, but shall issue no certificates of election until the time for petitions filed under this section has expired and, if a…

The state board shall proceed to tabulate the state election returns and declare the results as provided in chapter 22 of this title, and any candidate at the election challenging the result as applied to him or her may petition the board within seven (7) days after the declarati…

A candidate for election or nomination for election to public office shall be eligible to request a recount of the votes cast in his or her race pursuant to the following: (1) In those races in which a single candidate is elected a candidate who trails the winning candidate may r…

(1) A write-in candidate for election to public office shall be eligible to request a recount of the votes cast in a race: (a) If, following the initial manual count of all irregular ballots, the write-in candidate shall have received a minimum of ten (10) votes or one percent (1…

(1) A person, group or organization of “recognized standing” regarding a ballot question, as determined by the board of elections, may request a recount of the votes cast on the ballot question pursuant to the following: (a) The person, group or organization may request a recount…

(a) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that auditing of election results is necessary to ensure effective election administration and public confidence in the election results. Further, risk-limiting audits provide a more effective manner of conducting au…

After the close of the polls, the local board shall resume custody of the voting equipment until the voting equipment is removed by the state board or its designee. The local board shall take all necessary measures to prevent the voting equipment from being opened, tampered with,…

The state board of elections shall have the right to open any and all voting equipment either before, during or after an election in the presence of the proper election officials of the city or town in which the election is held for the purpose of examining the voting equipment; …

(a) Voted computer ballots that were counted at the state board shall be stored in containers by the state board until the expiration of twenty-two (22) months from the date of election and voted computer ballots that were voted and packaged at a local precinct or counted at the …

(a) For each voting district and for each town not divided into voting districts, at least one precinct count unit shall be prepared and delivered by the state board or its designee. (b) At each voting place, both in cities and in towns, at least one voting booth shall be furnish…

(a) Upon request of a moderator charged with conducting a municipal or regional school district financial meeting, the board of elections will furnish each meeting to be conducted with one computerized voting machine per year, and voting booths and ballots marked “yes” and “no” a…

Any public officer upon whom a duty is imposed by this chapter who willfully neglects to perform that duty, or who performs it in a way as to hinder the objects of this chapter, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.