§ 17-22-2 - Public sessions for counting – Persons permitted within railed space. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 17-22-2

   § 17-22-2  Public sessions for counting– Persons permitted within railed space. – The sessions of the state board for the counting, canvassing, and tabulatingprovided for in § 17-22-1, and for the opening of the inner certifyingenvelopes containing mail ballots and for the counting, canvassing, andtabulating of these ballots, shall be public, but no notice or advertisement ofthese sessions needs to be given. The opening, counting, canvassing, andtabulating shall be done within a railed space in the room in which it takesplace, and the board shall admit within the railed space the candidate, or atleast one representative of the candidate, for whom votes are at the time beingopened, counted, canvassed, or tabulated who may scrutinize the opening, count,canvass, and tabulation in accordance with the rules which may be adopted bythe board. The board shall also admit to the opening, counting, canvassing, andtabulating an equal number of representatives of each political party who shallbe party voters of the parties represented by them. These representatives, aswell as the representatives of candidates, shall be authorized in writing bythe chairperson of the state committees of their respective political partiesor by the candidates whom they represent, as the case may be. Insofar asapplicable, the procedures provided for in this chapter shall be followed bythe local boards in the counting and tabulating of municipal mail ballots,except only that in these instances the representatives of political partiesshall be appointed by the chairpersons of the city or town committees of theirrespective political parties. The provisions of this section shall not beconstrued to prevent the board from admitting, in its discretion, other personsand representatives of the press within the railed space during the opening,counting, canvassing, and tabulating.