by Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current
March 20, 2024
Rhode Island voter registration forms will soon have a new political party for voters to choose from: No Labels.
Yet the bipartisan group planning to prop up a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential election still hasn’t named a ticket. Meanwhile, alleged signature fraud on its petition papers remains under investigation by local law enforcement and the state attorney general’s office.
The Rhode Island Board of Elections voted 4-0 Tuesday to recognize No Labels Rhode Island as a new political party in the state, based on the review and certification of more than 20,000 signatures of state registered voters on petition papers.
The move makes Rhode Island the 18th state to recognize the political organization as a new political party, offering ballot access for a “unity ticket” alternative to the Democrat and Republican nominees in the 2024 presidential election.
Who the group plans to run as president and vice president remains undecided; committee members are slated to meet later this spring to vet and decide on a candidate, Gary Sasse, chairman of No Labels in Rhode Island, said in an interview on Tuesday.
No Labels began collecting signatures in Rhode Island in August 2023 to achieve party recognition; state law required the group turn in 17,884 valid signatures by Aug. 1, 2024 — equal to 5% of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election — to secure a spot on the November presidential ballot.
Candidates running in the November general election must submit declaration paperwork with the Rhode Island Department of State in the last week of June.
The 20,267 signatures verified by local boards of canvassers is more than 2,000 above the minimum requirement. However, more than 12,000 additional signatures were turned in but rejected by local election administrators, according to Miguel Nunez, Board of Elections director.
It’s not unusual for some signatures collected for a candidate or political group to be rejected — either because the handwriting is too difficult to read, the person is not registered to vote, or they are registered in a different municipality than the one they signed the papers for, among other reasons. However, boards of canvassers in Cranston and Jamestown flagged the papers turned in by No Labels due to a high number of rejected signatures, including those of dead residents.
Both local boards brought their concerns to the state Board of Elections in January, as well as, in the case of Jamestown, its town police department. The case remains under investigation by the Jamestown Police Department and the Office of the Attorney General, Keith Ford, Jamestown canvassing clerk, said Wednesday.
The Board of Elections declined to comment on the allegations or investigation, according to an email from Chris Hunter, board spokesperson.
Sasse previously linked the alleged fraud to staffers with the Texas political consulting firm that No Labels hired to help collect signatures on its behalf. Those staffers have since been fired, Sasse said.
Maryanne Martini, a spokesperson for No Labels nationwide, referred to a post on X in lieu of providing a separate statement.
🚨🗳️The No Labels movement is proud to announce we have secured ballot access in the great state of Rhode Island. No Labels is now on the ballot in 18 states and one step closer to offering the commonsense majority the choice they want in the 2024 election. #MoreChoices #NoLabels
— No Labels (@NoLabelsOrg) March 20, 2024
Board of Elections members Jennie Johnson, Randall Jackvony and Diane Mederos were absent from the meeting.
Registration forms offering voters the chance to register under the No Labels party will be available within 60 days, Nunez said.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com. Follow Rhode Island Current on Facebook and Twitter.
