Increases from seven (7) days to nine (9) days the period of time in which a request for a recount of the votes cast can be made to the board of elections. No certificates of election may be issued, until the recount if any is completed.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would extend the window of time that candidates or parties have to request an official recount of election results in Rhode Island. Currently, anyone who wants to challenge vote totals must submit their recount request to the Board of Elections within seven days after an election. This bill would add two more days, giving requesters a nine-day window to make that request.

The bill also clarifies that official certificates of election — the formal documents that declare someone the winner of a race — cannot be issued until any requested recount is fully completed. This means that if a recount is requested, the declared winner would have to wait for that process to finish before being officially certified.

This bill would affect candidates, political parties, and campaign organizations who believe election results may be incorrect and want them double-checked. It would also affect election officials at the Board of Elections, who would be responsible for managing recount requests within the new timeframe. Voters more broadly could be affected, since the change could slightly delay the finalization of election results in close or contested races.

The bill was introduced in the Rhode Island Senate and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, with a hearing scheduled for April 7, 2026. It has not yet been voted on.