The bill amends several sections of the General Laws concerning the nomination of party and independent candidates, specifically addressing the timelines for filing declarations of candidacy and nomination papers. Key changes include:

1. Declarations of candidacy must be filed on the seventy-seventh (77th) and seventy-eighth (78th) days before the primary election, with provisions for filing on the next two business days if the deadline falls on a holiday.

2. The deadlines for filing nomination papers are modified, moving the deadline for state and federal candidates to sixty-one (61) days before the primary election.

3. The timeline for objections to nomination papers is established, requiring all objections for local candidates to be filed by four o'clock (4:00) p.m. on the fifty-sixth (56th) day before the primary, and objections for federal and state candidates to be filed by four o'clock (4:00) p.m. on the fifty-fourth (54th) day before the primary.

4. The date of primary elections is updated to the ninth (9th) Tuesday preceding biennial state elections, with a provision that if this date falls on the day after Labor Day, the primary will be held the following Wednesday.

The act is set to take effect on January 1, 2028, and aims to streamline the nomination process while ensuring clarity in the election timeline.

Statutes affected:
7089: 17-15-1