PROVIDENCE, RI – Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis is reminding everyone thinking of running for office this year that they must register to vote by Fri., May 28, in order to be eligible to appear on this year's ballot.
“I am proud of our work overseeing Rhode Island’s record-breaking elections in 2008. We set new highs for voter turnout and registrations. I expect the momentum will carry over to 2010, and preparation will be critical,” said Mollis, who has already reviewed campaign ABCs for about 150 potential office-holders at Operation Clean Government’s Candidates School.
State law requires candidates to register to vote at least 30 days before the June 28-30 period for filing official declarations of candidacy. In order to register to vote, you must be at least 18 years of age by Election Day, a resident of Rhode Island and a U.S. citizen.
More offices will be on the ballot this year than in 2008. The races range from town council to Governor of Rhode Island to the U.S. House of Representatives. There is no race for U.S. Senate this year.
To make it easier for Rhode Islanders to consider public service, Mollis has published all the crucial deadlines in the 2010 election calendar in his "How to Run for Office" guide.
From June 28-30, candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and other statewide offices such as General Treasurer must file their official declaration of candidacy with the Secretary of State’s office. Anyone planning to run for state or local office must file with the board of canvassers in the city or town that is their legal residence.
The next important milestone is July 7 through July 16, when candidates must collect the signatures of enough eligible voters to officially put them on the ballot. The threshold ranges from 50 signatures for the state House of Representatives to 500 for the U.S. House of Representatives and most statewide offices to 1,000 signatures for governor.
Rhode Islanders have until Aug. 14 to register to vote in order to cast ballots in the Sept. 14 state primary. Oct. 2 is the deadline for registering to vote in the general election Nov. 2.
The "How to Run for Office" guide even outlines campaign finance requirements – including the July 30 deadline for candidates for state and local office to submit their second-quarter financial disclosure reports – and lists contact information for election officials in every city and town.
The guide is posted on the Secretary of State's website at sos.ri.gov. Hardcopies of the 32-page booklet are available upon request.
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