PROVIDENCE, RI (Jan. 13, 2009) -- Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will introduce legislation today to fight voter fraud and to improve voter turnout.
"From the day I decided to run for Secretary of State, my goal was to improve the way Rhode Islanders vote. While we set records last year in voter registrations and turnout last year, there is still work to be done," said Mollis.
His voter ID proposal will require voters to show photo ID when they cast ballots. The requirement will be phased in over three years. In 2010 and 2011, voters will be asked to show a photo ID when they vote. If they do not have a photo ID, they can use a variety of other identification including a Medicare or social security card.
Beginning in 2012, a valid college, state or federally issued photo ID will be required. Twenty-five states already require some form of voter ID at the polls.
"The pervasive belief that voter fraud exists undermines the public's faith in the fairness of our elections. Voting should be at least as secure as renting a car, getting a library card or any of the other tasks that routinely require ID," said Mollis.
His proposal is modeled on the state of Indiana's photo ID law, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last year. The bill incorporates all the requirements the court set including providing a free photo identification card to everyone who does not already have one.
In the event voters are still unable or unwilling to produce an ID, they will still be able to vote using a provisional ballot, which is currently used whenever there is a question about a voter's eligibility.
His second piece of legislation will enable voters to cast ballots beginning one week prior to an election.
The early voting bill requires every municipality to identify at least one location where voters can cast ballots during the five business days immediately preceding every primary, special election or general election. More than 30 states already permit some form of early voting.
To ensure there is little or no cost to cities and towns, Mollis envisions the voting would take place in city and town halls during normal business hours.
"My priority is to make it easier to vote. Increasing the number of days makes as much sense for today's busy Americans as voting just on Tuesday did in the 19th-century," said Mollis.
The process for casting an early vote would be similar to that already used for mail ballots. Municipal elections officials would provide a standard ballot and a secrecy envelope. Voters would complete the ballot by connecting arrows beside the names of the candidates they support. The voter would then seal the ballot in the secrecy envelope and insert the envelope in a secure ballot box.
Officials from the state Board of Elections would collect the ballots periodically during the early voting period. State election officials would then run the ballots through optical scanners in exactly the same way mail ballots are counted today.
State Rep. Jon Brien (D-Woonsocket) and state Sen. Christopher Maselli (D-Johnston) will be the lead sponsors.
Voter ID and early voting were among the 10 proposals Mollis addressed in his 2007 Voters First election reform initiative. Mollis and a nine-member, non-partisan Voters First Advisory Commission held a series of workshops and public hearings across the state. More than 200 organizations and individuals provided testimony to the Commission.
The members of the Voters First Advisory Commission were state Rep. Joe Almeida (D-Providence), Brien, former state Sen. June Gibbs, Roger Harris of the R.I. Disability Vote Project, Bob Kando, executive director of the state Board of Elections; Pawtucket Registrar Ken McGill, state Sen. Juan Pichardo (D-Providence), Jan Ruggiero, director of Elections in the Secretary of State’s office; and Sue Stenhouse, deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Community Relations.
As Secretary of State, Mollis is committed to making it easier to vote, helping business grow and making government more open and accessible. For more information about the programs and services the Secretary of State offers Rhode Islanders, visit www.sec.state.ri.us.
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