Coventry's Nardolillo to Ask Congress to Amend Motor Voter Law

COVENTRY, RI—State Rep. Robert Nardolillo III (R-District 28 Coventry) says the states should be able to require proof of citizenship before people can sign up to vote. On Tuesday, he will submit a Resolution to Congress on the floor of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, asking for an amendment to the Motor Voter Act.

The law (known as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993) allowed voters more ways to register, including by mail, at the Division of Motor Vehicles when they applied for or renewed drivers' licenses and at state offices serving the poor or disabled when they apply for food stamps or other public assistance.

According to the press release from the House Minority Office, the recent alleged voter fraud cases in Cranston spurred him to act.

"Cranston police are currently investigating eight cases of voting irregularities, in which two of the cases, involve non-U.S. citizens voting in Rhode Island’s third largest city," the office said.

Last week, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung announced an investigation was underway into a handful of possible voter fraud cases. The mayor stressed none of the suspicious votes would have changed the election outcome, but he suggested some changes should be made to eliminate future problems and called on Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea to undertake a review. Gorbea reportedly agreed with Fung but was already at work making improvements to insure that all the people voting are eligible.

According to Representative Nardolillo, “In this day and age, we should have solid measures in place to prevent voter fraud. What we see happening in Cranston, means it surely could have happened in other communities. I am asking our federal government, with this Resolution, to allow the state of Rhode Island to make sure residents show proof of citizenship, before ever casting a single vote in any election.”

The House Minority Office cited a 2016 court injunction preventing states from asking for citizenship papers.

"In 2016, the Obama Administration backed the issuance of a court injunction blocking new voter registration forms that would have allowed three states to require voters provide copies of documents proving their U.S. citizenship," the office said.

“Our federal law should be changed to allow states to require some proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. This will show that we are serious about stopping voter fraud,” said Representative Nardolillo. “If it happened in Cranston, I feel it’s highly probably it happened elsewhere.”