Last Updated: September 10, 2010 at 1:39 PM
Rhode Island ACLU v. Board of Elections
Case Information
Date Filed: September 11, 2008
State: Rhode Island
Issue: Voter Registration
Courts that Heard this Case: Providence Superior Court (Case )
Issue:
R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-1-3 permits a person who has not registered to vote to appear at his or her city or town hall and cast a vote in a presidential election. The Rhode Island Board of Elections has adopted a new administrative regulation that allows towns and cities to designate a different location for this same day voter registration procedure if "voting in a city or town hall has become impracticable due to inadequacy of the available facilities or other concerns." The issue is whether this newly adopted administrative regulation impermissibly conflicts with R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-1-3.
Status:
NOTICE: The electronic docket for this case is not freely available to the public. Filings in this case are not being monitored on a daily basis. Select documents will be added to this page when possible.
Trial Court Documents
- Complaint
(filed 9/11/08)
Related EL@M Stories
- ACLU Sues Board of Elections Over November Election Day Voting, Rhode Island ACLU Press Release, 9/11/08
- ACLU sues over voter registration, Providence Journal, 9/12/08
Commentary
Silence of the Lambs
Dale A. Oesterle
With the election of 2012 now well over and past the second inauguration of the incumbent President, the historical analysis of the events has begun and will last as long as written human history lasts. An interesting tidbit may already be lost to the majesty of the moment.
The voters of three very different states, Alaska, New Hampshire, and Ohio, all had an opportunity to call state constitutional conventions. In each state the voters turned the opportunity down by very similar votes, 68%, 64% and 68% respectively against.
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