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Rhode Island Regulations § 100-RICR-20-00-1.2 Election Ballot

⤴ Up to Part 1: Placement of Candidates and Local Referenda/Questions on Election Ballots (100-RICR-20-00-1)

Regulation Text

A. Determining Placement of Political Parties
1. The Department of State shall conduct a lottery to determine the order in which the recognized political parties will appear on the ballot for all federal, state and local offices.
2. The date, time and location of the lottery shall be determined and announced by the Secretary of State.
B. Determining Placement of Independent Candidates
1. The Department of State shall conduct a lottery to determine the order in which independent candidates for federal and state offices shall appear on the ballot (R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-19-9.1 ).
2. Each local board of canvassers shall also conduct a lottery to determine the order in which independent candidates for local offices in their city or town shall appear on the ballot.
C. For Races Where the Elector Votes for One Candidate Only
1. Political party candidates shall appear on the election ballot vertically, immediately below the title of the office sought and preceding the listing of independent candidates (R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-19-9.1 ).
2. The Department of State shall list the political party candidates in the order determined by the lottery for their respective parties.
3. In the event there is no candidate representing a political party for an office appearing on the ballot, the Department of State shall list the name of the political party candidate for the next party chosen by lottery for which there is a candidate.
4. Samples of these ballot layouts are contained in § 1.13 ("Appendix A") of this Part which is attached and incorporated by reference to this Part.
D. For Races Where the Elector Votes for More than One Candidate
1. When the race appearing on the ballot provides for a multiple vote situation, i.e. council-at-large where the voter is instructed to 'Vote for any 3', the Department of State shall list the political parties in the order chosen by lottery in the following manner:
2. A candidate representing the first political party chosen by lottery shall occupy the first position beneath the title of the office being sought; a candidate representing the second political party chosen by lottery shall occupy the second position beneath the title of office being sought; and so forth so that a candidate representing each remaining political party shall be listed in the next succeeding positions. During this process if there is no candidate to be listed for a particular political party, the Department of State shall list the next party chosen by lottery for which there is a candidate.
3. This sequence shall then be repeated using the next candidate on the certification list for each political party and shall continue to be repeated until all the political party candidates are listed.
4. The order in which local party candidates shall be placed in their respective party positions shall be determined by the order in which the candidates were certified to the Department of State by the local board of canvassers, based upon the past practice of the municipality, the local charter, or the submission by the local party committees, as the case may be.
5. A sample of this ballot layout is contained in § 1.14 ("Appendix B") of this Part which is attached and incorporated by reference to this Part.

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