Governor McKee Signs Primary Voting Bill

WEST WARWICK, RI — At West Warwick Town Hall on Wednesday, Governor Dan McKee was joined by Secretary of State Gregg Amore, and bill sponsors Representative Patricia Serpa (D-District 27) and Senator Leonidas Raptakis (D-District 33) for a ceremonial bill signing of 2418A /7662, which allow unaffiliated voters to remain unaffiliated after participating in a party primary. The bills also codify an unaffiliated voter’s right to participate in a primary of their choosing even when they may have voted in a different party’s primary previously.

West Warwick Town Manager Mark Knott and Cranston Director of Elections Nick Lima also spoke at the event.

“We are all truly lucky, not only to live in a democracy, but also to participate in a democracy, and this bill makes the process of casting a vote easier for unaffiliated voters,” said Governor Dan McKee. “Rhode Islanders have a strong history of making their voices heard, and the legislation, proposed by Representative Serpa and Senator Raptakis and championed by Secretary Amore, is yet another addition to that history.”

“Rhode Islanders are proud to be independent, and this bill reduces the administrative burden on both our state’s unaffiliated voters and the local election officials who process party changes,” said Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore. “I appreciate the work of Representative Serpa and Senator Raptakis to champion this legislation, and was pleased to join Governor McKee and local election officials as it was signed today.”

“Most voters in Rhode Island are unaffiliated with any political party, but often choose to vote in party primaries, whether it be Democrat or Republican,” said Representative Serpa (D-Dist. 27, West Warwick, Coventry). “And as voter history suggests, most of those voters would prefer to remain unaffiliated after the primary is over. This bill would allow those unaffiliated voters to remain unaffiliated without having to fill out a form after the election. That not only makes it easier for the voters, but for election officials who spend hundreds of hours after every election cycle processing thousands of these forms.”

“Almost half of Rhode Islanders consider themselves independent,” said Senator Leonidas Raptakis (D-Dist. 33, Coventry, West Greenwich). “Now that more voting is done through mail-in and provisional ballots, this will stop disenfranchising voters who just forgot to fill out paperwork after the last election.”