100-RICR-20-00-3. Rules and Regulations of the Rhode Island Secretary of State Establishing the Procedure for the Issuance of Voter Identification Cards (version Adoption, 01/02/2012 to 03/20/2018)

1 RULES & REGULATIONS ADOPTED BY THE OFFICE OF THE RHODE ISLAND SECRETARY OF STATE ESTABLISHING THE PROCEDURE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF RHODE ISLAND VOTER IDENTIFICATION CARDS PURSUANT TO R.I.G.L. SECTION 17-19-24.2c I. AUTHORITY Rhode Island General Laws (“R.I.G.L.”) Title 17, Chapter 19, Section 24.2(c) charges the Office of the Rhode Island Secretary of State (“Secretary of State”) with the responsibility to develop and implement procedures for the issuance of Rhode Island Voter Identification (“Voter ID”) Cards upon request by Voters. Accordingly, the Secretary of State has promulgated the within rules and regulations relative to the issuance of Voter ID Cards upon request by a Voter. Said rules and regulations are established pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act (R.I.G.L. Section 42-35-1 et seq) and available for public inspection, submissions or requests at the Office of the Secretary of State, Administrative Records Division, 337 Westminster Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903. II. INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE This Regulation: A. Is hereby promulgated to establish Rules and Regulations in compliance with R.I.G.L. Section 17-19-24.2(c), concerning the issuance of Voter ID Cards by the Secretary of State. B. To provide personnel of the Secretary of State and the public with established procedures for acquisition of a Voter ID Card. III. DEFINITIONS For purposes of this Regulation and as used in this Regulation: A. “Current and Valid” shall mean the document has not expired by its terms prior to the date it is presented. B. “CVRS” shall mean the State’s Central Voter Registration System created under R.I.G.L. Section 17-6-1.2. 2 C. “Secretary of State” shall mean the Rhode Island Secretary of State, or his/her designee. D. “Voter” or “Voters” shall mean an individual(s) who has (have) registered to vote pursuant to State law or Regulation. E. “Voter ID Application“ shall mean an application form(s) prescribed by the Secretary of State which shall be submitted by the Voter at the time a Voter ID is requested, which shall include all information required by the Secretary of State. F. “Voter ID Card” shall mean the Voter Identification Card issued to an individual who qualifies for such under State law and this Regulation. IV. PROCEDURE TO OBTAIN A VOTER ID CARD A. Only applicants who are Voters in the State of Rhode Island and do not possess any one of the current and valid Voter Identifications set forth in Subsection (B) are eligible to obtain a Voter ID Card. B. Voters who possess one of the following forms of current and valid photo identification will not be eligible to acquire a Voter ID Card: 1) Rhode Island driver’s license; 2) United States passport; 3) Identification Card issued by a United States educational institution; 4) United States military identification card; 5) Identification card issued by the United States or the State of Rhode Island; or 6) Government issued medical card C. Voters who do not possess one of the forms of current and valid photo identification set forth in Subsection (B) above, at the time of application, will be required to provide either: (i) one of the following forms of current and valid identification: 1) Employee identification card; 2) Identification card provided by a commercial establishment; 3) Credit or debit card; 4) Military identification card; 5) Student identification card; 6) Health club identification card; 7) Insurance plan identification card; 8) Public housing identification card; or 3 (ii) A copy of any one of the following documents, provided that it includes the name of the Voter presenting it and is dated since the date of the last general election, unless the document is intended to be of a permanent nature such as a pardon or discharge: 9) Utility bill; 10) Bank statement; 11) Government paycheck; 12) Document issued by a government agency; 13) Official elections document issued by a government agency, dated for the election in which the registered voter is providing it as proof of identity; 14) Voter notification issued by a governmental agency; 15) Public housing identification card issued by a governmental agency; 16) Lease or rental statement or agreement issued by a governmental agency; 17) Student identification card issued by a governmental institution/agency or non-governmental institution/agency; 18) Tuition statement or bill issued by a governmental agency; 19) Insurance plan card or drug discount card issued by a government agency; 20) Discharge certificates, pardons, or other official documents issued to the registered voter by a governmental agency in connection with the resolution of a criminal case, indictment, sentence or other matter; 21) Public transit authority senior citizen and disabled discount cards issued by a governmental agency; 22) Identification documents issued by governmental disability agencies; 23) Identification documents issued by homeless shelters and other temporary or transitional facilities; 24) Drug prescription issued by a government document or other governmental health care provider; 25) Property tax statement issued by a governmental agency; 26) Vehicle registration issued by a governmental agency; or 27) Vehicle certificate of ownership issued by a governmental agency D. Voters who do not possess one of the forms of identification set forth in Subsection (C) above at the time of application may still apply. The individual(s) designated by the Secretary of State shall compare the voter’s signature on the Voter Identification Application (Voter ID Application) to the signature on file for the Voter in the CVRS. If the individual(s) designated by the Secretary of State determines that the signatures match, the Voter ID Application shall be valid. 4 E. In order to obtain a Voter ID Card, Voters must submit a Voter ID Application. Voters who submit a Voter ID Application which contains a false or erroneous statement or is defective in any important fact with intent to mislead the Secretary of State shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year or be fined an amount not exceeding one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars. F. The Voter ID Card issued by the Secretary State shall include, but not be limited to, (1) the Seal of the State of Rhode Island; (2) the name of the Voter as it appears in the CVRS; (3) a color photo of the Voter; (4) a holographic security feature; (5) a disclaimer that the card is to be used only for the purpose of voter identification and is not proof of Voter eligibility; (6) other features as the Secretary of State shall determine. V. WHERE TO OBTAIN VOTER IDENTIFICATION CARDS: 1) Office of the Secretary of State, Elections Division, 148 West River Street, Providence, RI 02904; 2) The Rhode Island Secretary of State Mobile Unit will visit locations around the State of Rhode Island, as determined by the Secretary of State; 3) Such other locations throughout the State of Rhode Island as the Secretary of State shall determine. For information regarding the location and schedule of the Mobile Unit site visits, please contact the Secretary of State’s Office at 401-222-2340 or visit www.sos.ri.gov. VI. COST AND VALIDITY OF VOTER ID CARDS: 1) There shall be no cost or fee to Voters to acquire the Voter ID card; 2) Voter ID Cards will only be valid while an individual’s voting status is Active or Inactive in the CVRS. Issuance of a Voter ID Card does not, in and of itself, give an individual the right to vote. An individual will need to comply with all other provisions of State and Federal Law to be allowed voting status within the State of Rhode Island; and 3) There shall be no fee to update or replace a Voter ID Card. 5 VII. PROCEDURE TO UPDATE OR REPLACE LOST/ MISPLACED OR STOLEN VOTER ID CARDS: 1) Voters who desire to update their Voter ID Card or who lose, misplace or report their Voter ID Card stolen, may apply for an updated or replacement Voter ID Card following the identical process for acquisition of an original Voter ID Card set forth in Section IV above. VIII. SEVERABILITY If any provision of this Regulation or the application thereof to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the provisions or application of this Regulation which can be given effect, and to this end, the provisions of this Regulation are declared to be severable. CERTIFICATION I hereby attest that the within Regulation relating to the Issuance of Voter Identification Cards by the Office of the Secretary of State has been adopted by the Office of the Secretary of State and is a true copy. _________________________ _______________________________ Date A. Ralph Mollis, Secretary of State