Bill
HB 5874
HB 5874 clarifies Rhode Island voting definitions and restores felons' voting rights at discharge from incarceration, guiding courts, election offices, and voters.
Status: Committee recommended measure be held for further study (03/25/2025)
Introduced: February 28, 2025
Primary sponsors: Reps. Cruz, Ajello, Felix, Sanchez, Morales, Potter, Kislak, Casimiro, Alzate, Tanzi
Referred to: House State Government & Elections
HB 5874 amends Rhode Island election law to (1) revise and clarify statutory definitions used throughout Title 17 (Elections) and (2) modify the state’s Restoration of Voting Rights provisions for people incarcerated following a felony conviction. The stated intent is to make the legal definitions clearer and to specify when voting rights are restored for certain individuals with felony convictions.
Section 1 — Amendments to definitions (G.L. 17-1-2)
- Revises and restates the statutory definitions used across the elections title, including terms such as “election,” “general election,” “local board,” “party member,” “party voter,” “political party,” “polling place,” “primary election,” “qualified voter,” “special election,” and others.
- Retains and clarifies the statutory definition of “political party,” including the petition pathway: a political organization may qualify as a party by obtaining signatures equal to 5% of the statewide vote for governor or president in the immediately preceding general election. Timelines stated in the text include:
- Signatures may be collected beginning January 1 of the qualifying year.
- Petitions for organizations wishing to nominate by primary must be presented to local boards no later than June 1.
- If the organization does not seek a primary, petitions may be returned by August 1.
- Clarifies that party status obtained by petition applies only for that calendar year unless a party’s candidate subsequently receives at least 5% in the pertinent statewide race.
Section 2 — Restoration of voting rights (G.L. 17-9.2-3)
- Explicitly provides that a person who lost voting rights due to incarceration on a felony conviction is restored the right to vote when discharged from incarceration. (Text for subsection (a) is explicit.)
- The bill text provided to this summary is truncated at subsection (b). The bill begins to address court procedures “Before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a felony, and before imposing a felony sentence after trial, the court s…,” indicating additional procedural provisions related to pleas/sentencing and voting-rights advisals or records may be included. The full text or committee report should be consulted for complete subsection (b) and any requirements placed on courts, clerks, or election officials.
If you want, I can retrieve and summarize the full text of subsection (b) and any remaining sections once the complete bill text is available.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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