Rhode Island § 17-23-17 - Election Offenses

§ 17-23-17. Violations with respect to elections.

(a) Any person is guilty of a felony who:

(1) Makes a declaration of candidacy or obtains, circulates, or causes to be circulated his or her nomination papers for an office, knowing or with good reason to know that he or she is not qualified as provided in this title to be his or her party’s candidate for the office;

(2) Knowingly or without reasonable and proper investigation makes any substantial misstatement in any declaration of candidacy, nomination paper, or affidavit provided for in this title;

(3) Signs a nomination paper when he or she knows that he or she is not qualified to sign;

(4) Votes or attempts to vote at any election when he or she knows or should know that he or she is not qualified to vote;

(5) Votes or attempts to vote more than once at any election, or votes or attempts to vote in more than one political party’s primary on the same day;

(6) Votes or attempts to vote at any election under the name of any other person;

(7) Willfully hinders the orderly conduct of any election;

(8) Gives a false answer to any election official relative to his or her right to vote at the election;

(9) Aids or abets a person not entitled to vote at any election in voting or attempting to vote under a name other than the voter’s name or in voting twice upon the voter’s name;

(10) Willfully alters or makes any change, erasure, or additional check upon the voting list used or to be used at any election; or

(11) Willfully violates any provisions of chapters 12 — 15 of this title for which violation a specific penalty is not provided.

(b) Any person who unlawfully and knowingly signs the name of any other person on any nomination papers shall be guilty of a felony.

(c) Any public officer or officer of a political party who willfully violates any of the provisions of chapters 12 — 15 of this title, or refuses or willfully neglects and omits to perform, in the manner and within the time prescribed, any duty imposed upon the officer by these chapters, or suffers or permits any alteration, erasure, or additional check to be made upon a voting list in the officer’s custody or control, shall be guilty of a felony.