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S2341AElections & Voting

Elections - Mail Ballots

Allows military, overseas, and disabled voters to receive and return ballots using secure electronic transmission systems.

Signed into law62 Yea7 Nay6 Not voting
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 29, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation updates Rhode Island's election laws regarding how military members, overseas citizens, and voters with disabilities cast their ballots. It authorizes the Secretary of State to approve secure electronic systems for transmitting and receiving ballots, replacing older requirements that relied on fax machines or specific federal numbers. Crucially, it permanently allows eligible disabled voters—those for whom voting at the polls is a hardship due to illness or disability—to both receive and return their ballots electronically using these secure systems, ensuring they have the same remote voting access as military personnel.

For younger readers

This new rule helps soldiers who are far away and people who have disabilities vote. Before, it was hard for them to get their voting papers and send them back. Now, the people in charge of voting can use special, safe computer programs to send voting papers to these people and let them send their votes back electronically. This makes sure that even if someone is in another country or can't leave their house easily because of a disability, they can still have their say in who runs the government.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Military PersonnelOverseas CitizensVoters with DisabilitiesSecretary of StateLocal Boards of Canvassers
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Significantly expands voting accessibility for the disability community by allowing them to return ballots electronically, removing physical barriers associated with mail or in-person voting.
  • Modernizes the voting infrastructure by moving away from antiquated fax technology to secure digital transmission, ensuring that marginalized groups (overseas and disabled voters) have reliable access to the franchise.
  • Promotes equity by ensuring that voters with disabilities are afforded the same technological conveniences and rights as military and overseas voters.
  • Electronic return of ballots raises cybersecurity concerns regarding the ability to verify voter intent and audit results, which could theoretically undermine confidence in election outcomes.
  • The reliance on third-party "solutions" or vendors for electronic transmission could be viewed as the privatization of critical public election infrastructure.
  • The requirement for disabled voters to certify "undue hardship" subject to perjury penalties might be viewed as an intimidation tactic or an unnecessary hurdle for those seeking accommodation.
For Conservatives
  • Facilitates voting for active-duty military personnel stationed overseas, ensuring those serving the country have a streamlined way to participate in elections.
  • Mandates that any electronic system used must meet strict National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity guidelines and undergo independent security reviews.
  • Maintains a certification requirement where disabled voters must attest to their incapacity, subject to perjury penalties, preserving a layer of legal accountability.
  • Expands the use of electronic ballot returns (internet voting), which is widely viewed by conservatives as highly susceptible to hacking, manipulation, and fraud compared to paper ballots.
  • Weakens the chain of custody for ballots by allowing digital transmission rather than physical mail or in-person delivery, potentially compromising election integrity.
  • Broadens the definition of who can vote remotely beyond military personnel to include a wider category of "disabled" voters, which some may view as a slippery slope toward universal remote voting.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

2 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 19 additions · 2 deletions

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 17-20-6.1 and 17-20-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-20 entitled "Mail Ballots" are hereby amended to read as follows: 17-20-6.1. Alternative methods of voting by citizens covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and other citizens residing outside the United States. [Effective December 31, 2025.]

(a) It is the intent and purpose that the provisions set forth in this section are designed to facilitate the federal mandate of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), 52 U.S.C. § 20301 et seq.

(b) The Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) may be used as a request for an absentee ballot by:

(1) A member of the armed forces who is absent from the state by reason of being in active service;

(2) Any person absent from the state in performance of “services intimately connected with military operations” as defined in § 17-20-3(d);

(3) Any person who is employed outside of the United States as defined in § 17-20-3(c); and

(4) Any person who does not qualify under subparagraph (1), (2), or (3) above, but who is a citizen of the United States and absent from the state and residing outside the United States as described in chapter 21.1 of this title.

(c) The single FPCA card shall permit the person to request an absentee ballot for each primary and election through the next general election for federal office or for the time period specified by federal law in which the voter is eligible to vote.

(d) The FPCA card must be received by the local board of canvassers where the person last maintains his or her residence for voting purposes within the time frame for applying for absentee ballots as set forth in this title.

(e) If the FPCA, when used in accordance with this section, is sent by the voter through electronic transmission, it must be sent to the secretary of state and it must be received by the secretary of state by the deadline for applying for absentee ballots as set forth in this title. The secretary of state shall then forward the FPCA to the appropriate local authority who shall immediately certify and return the FPCA to the secretary of state with the notation that the corresponding ballots shall be sent by mail and electronic transmission. The secretary of state shall transmit ballots only to the facsimile number provided by the Federal Voter Assistance Program. The secretary of state shall approve electronically transmitted ballots to and from eligible voters only through a service or solution that meets the following requirements:

(1) The system has had one or more independent security reviews;

(2) Demonstrates the system meets the National Institute of Standards and Technology

(NIST) Cybersecurity Framework guidelines or federal cybersecurity framework guidelines of a successor designated federal agency or organization; and

(3) Approved by the secretary of state. The ballots sent by electronic transmission shall be returned to the state board by electronic transmission. These ballots will be counted at the state board in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the state board.

(f) The voter’s signature on the FPCA does not need to be witnessed or notarized, when the FPCA is submitted as provided in this section.

(g) If a voter is casting a mail ballot received through the use of the FPCA card as provided in this section, the voter’s signature does not need to be witnessed or notarized on the certifying envelope used for the return of the voted mail ballot. 17-20-9. Application to be placed on the permanent mail ballot application list.

(a) A voter, by signing an application, may request that a mail ballot application be sent to the voter automatically for every election. The application and instructions shall be prescribed by the secretary of state, and furnished upon request to any elector by each local board of canvassers. The envelope containing the mail ballot application shall be clearly marked as not forwardable. If any elector is no longer an eligible voter the elector shall notify the local board of canvassers of this fact. The local board shall remove the name of any voter from the mailing list established under this section upon receipt of reliable information that a voter no longer qualifies for the service. The voter shall be notified of the action within five (5) days after the board takes the action.

(b) The application and instructions prescribed in this section shall be mailed to the applicant along with a stamped return envelope addressed to the local boards of canvassers. The secretary of state may process applications pursuant to this section through the online mail ballot application portal established by § 17-20-2.3.

(c) [Deleted by P.L. 2025, ch. 231, § 1 and P.L. 2025, ch. 232, § 1.]

(d) The secretary of state shall maintain a list in the central voter registration system of all voters who automatically receive applications for mail ballots, pursuant to this section.

(e) [Expires December 31, 2025.] Eligible disabled voters shall be entitled to electronically receive and return their mail ballot, using the same electronic transmission system as that used by voters covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). This electronic process shall satisfy the federal Rehabilitation Act, section 508 concerning accessibility standards.

(f) [Expires December 31, 2025.] For purposes of this section, “eligible disabled voter” means a person with disabilities eligible to vote who is incapacitated to such an extent that it would be an undue hardship to vote at the polls because of illness, mental or physical disability, blindness, or a serious impairment of mobility.

(g) Eligible disabled voters shall be entitled to electronically receive and return their mail ballot, using the same electronic transmission system as that used by voters covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. (UOCAVA). This electronic process shall satisfy the federal Rehabilitation Act, section 508 concerning accessibility standards.

(h) For purposes of this section, "eligible disabled voter" means a person with disabilities eligible to vote who certifies, subject to the provisions of §§ 17-20-8(d) and 17-26-1, that they are incapacitated to such an extent that it would be an undue hardship to vote at the polls because of illness, mental or physical disability, blindness, or a serious impairment of mobility.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.