PROVIDENCE – Gov. Daniel J. McKee on Wednesday signed the Let RI Vote Act into law that will expand voter access while ensuring the integrity of Rhode Island elections.
The bill, passed by the General Assembly May 25, makes mail voting easier by allowing online mail ballot applications, and permitting any voter to use a mail ballot or an emergency mail ballot without needing an excuse for why they can’t visit their polling location on Election Day.
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“There is nothing more fundamentally American than the right to vote – it provides every Rhode Islander the opportunity to have a say in how they would like to see their state, and country, shaped,” McKee said. “The Let RI Vote Act makes voting easier, safer and more secure, and making it easier to give Rhode Islanders a voice in their government should always be our top priority.”
The law also drops the requirement that mail ballots be either signed by two witnesses or notarized. Instead, voters’ signatures will be verified using their registration records using a four-tiered verification process. Municipalities are also required to maintain at least one drop box where voters can deposit their ballots securely through the close of polls on Election Day.
Additionally, the act allows nursing home residents to opt in to automatically receive applications for mail ballots for every subsequent election.
The bill was sponsored by House Majority Whip Katherine S. Kazarian, D-East Providence, and Sen. Dawn Euer, D-Newport.
“As we saw in 2020, early voting alternatives were used by a large portion of our population and the results of this change in voting patterns produced a smooth and secure election process that ensured that everyone’s vote was safely counted,” Kazarian said.
Euer added, “It should be easy to access your right to vote. Giving voters options about when and how to cast their vote is a way to ensure that our elections really do produce results that reflect the will of the people – all the people.”
