In a major win for Rhode Island’s independent voters, Governor Dan McKee held a ceremonial signing of Bill 2418A / 7662 at West Warwick Town Hall on Wednesday. The legislation, which was sponsored by Representative Patricia Serpa (D-District 27) and Senator Leonidas Raptakis (D-District 33), allows unaffiliated voters to remain unaffiliated after participating in a party primary.
Joining McKee at the event were Secretary of State Gregg Amore, Serpa, Raptakis, and local election officials, including West Warwick Town Manager Mark Knott and Cranston Director of Elections Nick Lima.
“We are all truly lucky, not only to live in a democracy, but also to participate in one, and this bill makes the process of casting a vote easier for unaffiliated voters,” McKee said. The Governor praised the legislation, highlighting Rhode Island’s history of voter engagement.
Secretary of State Gregg Amore echoed those sentiments, saying, “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.” Amore thanked Serpa and Raptakis for championing the legislation.
The new law codifies the right of unaffiliated voters to vote in a primary of their choosing, even if they’ve voted in a different party’s primary before. Previously, voters had to fill out paperwork to return to their unaffiliated status after casting a primary vote—a process that many found cumbersome.
“Most voters in Rhode Island are unaffiliated with any political party,” said Serpa, representing West Warwick and Coventry. “This bill allows those voters to remain unaffiliated without having to go through extra paperwork.”
Raptakis pointed out the broader implications for voters who may forget to update their status: “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.”
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