A proposal to let Rhode Island voters sign candidates’ nomination papers electronically – increasing access and fending off fraud – inched forward Jan. 13 with the Rhode Island Board of Elections’ backing.
The seven-member panel voted unanimously to support all four pieces of election-related legislation pitched by R.I. Secretary of State Gregg Amore, including the first-in-the-nation online nomination paper portal. Faith Chybowski, a spokesperson for Amore, said in email Wednesday that Amore appreciates the election board’s support.
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But Amore will still have to convince the R.I. General Assembly and Gov. Daniel J. McKee on his vision.
As Amore explained to the state elections board at a Jan. 6 meeting, voters can already register or update their registration online, and apply for mail ballots, via the Department of State’s online portal. Using that same software to also let voters sign papers for local, state and federal candidates to qualify for the ballot — verifying their identity with the last four digits of a Social Security number or driver’s license — could eliminate some of the guesswork for local and state election administrators charged with verifying paper-and-pen John Hancocks.
And it could prevent the criminal forgery that upended the 2023 special election for Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District, when fake signatures, including those of dead residents, were spotted on the papers for Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos.
Matos, once a frontrunner in the 11-way primary, finished a distant fourth despite proclaiming her innocence in the signature scandal. Two contractors hired by her campaign to help collect signatures were later charged with multiple criminal felonies for the forgeries.
The option to sign nomination papers online – pen-and-ink collections would also remain – would also expand access for disabled, overseas and military voters otherwise left out of the early stages of the election process, Amore said. And, it would make it easier for candidates to gain ballot access, guaranteeing at least online that their supporters live in the right district to make the signatures count.
The Rhode Island Board of Elections offered little discussion in its recommendation vote, having already weighed and commended the measure during a prior meeting.
Other election-related pieces of legislation backed by the state elections board Tuesday included easing fines for candidates and campaigns over late filed campaign finance reports; eliminating the state constitutional requirement that voters register at least 30 days before an election (a shorter timeline would be up to the General Assembly to determine); and extending the option for disabled and military voters to submit ballots through a secure, electronic system, extending a 2022 law which expired at the end of 2025. The House Committee on State Government and Elections is scheduled to give initial consideration to the electronic ballot extension bill on Thursday.
Nancy Lavin is a senior staff writer for the Rhode Island Current.
