Legislation

We supported this resolution which would express state solidarity in the campaign for D.C. statehood, noting that it is in line with basic tenets of civil rights, equity, and democratic representation.

We supported a repeal of our state voter ID law, noting that it presents an unnecessary barrier to eligible voters who may not have ready access to a photo ID.

We opposed a bill which would have eliminated the counting of write-in votes for persons who had not filed in advance a “declaration of intent.”

Noting that questions of gubernatorial candidate residency is an issue best left to the voters, we opposed this legislation which would have imposed a five-year residency requirement on any individual who seeks to become a candidate for governor.

Despite the harmful impact on democracy that the events of January 6, 2021 had, we testified in opposition to a bill which would have barred any individual convicted of “sedition, insurrection, rebellion or a felony in relation to such act” from a number of rights.

We strongly supported legislation which would have bolstered the right to vote at the ACI by requiring the posting of voting rights information in its facilities and the appointment of a “jail voting coordinator” to assist incarcerated voters.

As a piece of explicit voter suppression legislation, we opposed this bill which sought to criminalize “ballot harvesters,” but was so broadly worded that it could have subjected every single voter in Rhode Island to potential prison time if passed.

Though we strongly supported the goal of ensuring more eligible voters are added to the voter rolls, we opposed legislation which would have allowed the DMV to make determinations about a person’s citizenship for purposes of automatically registering them to vote.

We supported this resolution which would have expressed state solidarity in the campaign for D.C. statehood, noting that it is in line with basic tenets of civil rights, equity, and democratic representation.