POLITICS

Killing Mickey Mouse? Panel OKs bill to change write-in rules

Katherine Gregg
kgregg@providencejournal.com
State lawmakers are poised to kill Mickey Mouse, and not just him. A bill headed for final week votes would invalidate votes for any write-in candidate who does not pre-register in advance of a R.I. election. [ABC/Richard Harbaugh]

PROVIDENCE — Bye-bye Mickey Mouse.

And not just him. Bugs Bunny, Abraham Lincoln, God Almighty, Vermin Supreme and Warren Buffett could also lose their already improbable chances of winning election in Rhode Island if state lawmakers approve new restrictions that the Board of Elections wants to place on write-in candidates.

Heading into the final week of the legislative session that began Jan. 1, the lawmakers face votes on some weighty issues, including the proposed $9.9-billion state budget and an extended time limit for victims to sue sexual abusers. 

But the final days will also see a rush of action on bills that have not previously gotten much attention. Case in point: Mickey Mouse.

The House Judiciary Committee on Monday approved legislation [5709] to require that "each voter seeking to be a write-in candidate'' for any federal, state or local office to file a notice of his or her intent no later than the Friday before any election.

A few of the rules: "The declaration of intent shall be signed by the candidate as his or her name appears on the voting list ... [with] the [candidate's] address as it appears on the voting list. ... The candidate's place and date of birth ... length of residence in the state and in the town or city where he or she resides ... [and] a certification that he or she is [not] serving a sentence [and] has not within the preceding three years served any sentence — incarcerated or suspended, on probation or parole — for a crime committed after November 5, 1986."

And finally: "A certification that he or she has not been lawfully adjudicated to be of unsound mind."

Write-ins have always added a splash of humor to Rhode Island's elections, along with an outlet for voters to express their displeasure with the choice of official candidates.

In 2018, President Donald Trump got 37 votes for Rhode Island attorney general. Former Attorney General Arlene Violet got 64. Bugs Bunny got six.

The late Cool Moose Party founder Robert Healey, who once ran to abolish the office of lieutenant governor, got eight votes for governor and 42 for lieutenant governor.

It was a good year for perennial write-in also-ran Mickey Mouse, who picked up at least 309 write-in votes across all races, including 79 for attorney general, 32 for governor and 20 in state Senate District 30 in Warwick.

But in a letter to lawmakers, Miguel Nunes, deputy director of elections, said tallying write-ins is a "monumental responsibility" of the local and state boards after an election; in fact, 30,000 write-ins have been tallied so far from the 2018 election. Thirty-one other states require advance "notice of intent'' to run as a write-in candidate: the requirement is two weeks in Connecticut, and one month in Maine and Massachusetts.

If the legislation passes, state and local boards would only be required to tally write-in votes for individuals who filed their notices of intent in advance. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island delivered the counter-argument: "A voter is making a statement by deciding to cast a write-in vote. ... It should be respected and counted."

"Contrary to what we in a democratic society like to say, this proposed legislation would literally mean that every vote does not count,'' the ACLU testified.

A second elections bill approved by the House Judiciary Committee proved more controversial. It would  give voters a chance, closer to each election, to decide whether they want to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary.

Unaffiliated voters already have that choice right up until the moment they walk into their local polling place, but current law requires voters who want to switch party affiliations to "disaffiliate" at least 90 days ahead of a primary. The legislation [5700] would allow disaffiliation 30 days in advance.

The three Republicans on the committee voted nay, with House Minority Leader Blake Filippi predicting it would lead to "a lot of game-playing,'' with Democrats who significantly out-number Republicans sending in troops to interfere with GOP primaries.  Rep. Arthur Corvese's counter-argument: the opportunities for game-playing applies "equally."

House Republicans hoped to score a victory of their own in the perpetual battle to remove dead voters from the rolls with a bill [5328] the House Corporations Committee approved.

Their bill would require funeral directors to "file written or electronic notification of the name and address of the deceased with the office of the secretary of state and the chairperson of the board of canvassers of the city or town." 

Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea said the bill "would add an unnecessary burden on Rhode Island funeral homes. The owners of these small businesses would have to duplicate a process that already takes place as part of our active voter list maintenance."