Easing of mail-ballot requirements in RI is one vote from the governor's desk
PROVIDENCE – The unions and advocacy groups promoting a permanent loosening of Rhode Island's mail-ballot requirements – to mirror what was done during the pandemic to make it easier for COVID-weary R.I. voters to vote – scored a victory on Tuesday.
The Democrat-controlled House approved its version of a bill to allow online applications for mail ballots and eliminate the current witness/notary signature requirements to verify the identity of those who choose to vote by mail.
In lieu of witnesses, the voter will need to state:
"I have not and will not vote elsewhere in this election," and "I hereby attest under the pains and penalty of perjury, that the enclosed voted ballot was cast by me, and that the signature or mark on this certifying envelope was made by me."
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Early voting would be allowed
The proposed law would also allow early in-person voting 20 days ahead of Election Day, while the candidates are still ramping up their campaigns for a final push and debates are playing out.
The largely party-line vote was 52-to-13, according to the online tally.
The "Let RI Vote" legislation – championed by Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea – is one final vote away from making its way to Gov. Dan McKee's desk, where he has vowed to sign it into law.
Moments after the House vote, McKee issued this statement: "Over the past year, our Democracy has been tested and we must do everything we can to protect it,"
"The Let RI Vote Act is a comprehensive set of common sense tools to protect Rhode Islanders' voting rights ... I'm looking forward to the legislation reaching my desk – I'm ready to sign it."
The House bill and the matching version in the Senate were born out of Rhode Island's 2020 mid-pandemic attempt to make voting easier for COVID-leery voters.
Mail ballots: Senate approves bill to allow early voting, online applications for mail ballots
In the 2020 general election, 62% of Rhode Islanders voted early in person or by mail, compared to 38% at a polling place on Election Day.
"In 2020, over 520,000 Rhode Islanders safely and securely voted either from home with a mail ballot, early in-person, or on Election Day," Gorbea said earlier this year.
The debate in the House echoed the debate in the Senate.
Making voting easier
Advocates cited the record-high turnout in the 2020 presidential election as evidence that suspending the witness/notary requirements by emergency order during the pandemic drove up the turnout by making voting easier.
"We live in a different world than we did," said Rep. Gregg Amore, who is running for secretary of state. "This is the most non-radical bill on voting that we could propose ... At least 27 other states do mail balloting exactly like this.
"Thirteen of those states are as red as this carpet. In those states, we have not seen widespread voter fraud."
But Republicans in the House echoed earlier GOP arguments in the Senate:"We want it to be easy to vote ... but hard to cheat."
Republican Rep. Brian Newberry said the early, in-person voting – 20 days ahead of an election – makes it "an incumbency protection act," that disadvantages any challenger.
But every GOP attempt to amend the bill failed on lopsided votes, including a bid to put signs on each drop box that say in English and Spanish: "There exists a potential the ballot you deposit into this dropbox could be tampered with."
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI House votes to loosen mail ballot requirements
