Legislation to eliminate the so-called “master lever” from Rhode Island ballots will get its first public hearing this afternoon, Wednesday, when the House Judiciary Committee meets at the Rise in Room 313 at the State House.
State law currently requires ballots to include the straight-party option, which enables voters to vote for all the candidates of a political party with a single vote.
The master lever has the potential to inadvertently disenfranchise some voters and causes too many others to question the fairness of their elections.
Secretary of State Mollis asked long-time proponents state Rep. Michael Marcello (D-Scituate, Cranston) and state Sen. David Bates (R-Barrington, Bristol) to introduce the bills, which would ban the straight-party-voting option from the ballot. Operation Clean Government and Common Cause support the legislation.