“This is a race to the bottom … not good for American Democracy.” — Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore, commenting on the mid-cycle gerrymandering that’s gripping the nation.
Amore in a wide ranging interview discusses the impact of gerrymandering, the federal government’s attempt to seize voter information, and, in what will be an active election year in Rhode Island, important dates for voters and candidates.
This is the second part of our two part interview with the Secretary of State. In part one that appeared yesterday (Monday) we talked about the proposed $45 million bond issue for a state archives building, and numerous events statewide celebrating the country’s 250th.
Secretary of State Amore hopeful state Archives Building is on the November ballot
WUN: Tell me about the federal government’s efforts to try and gain access to voter information. Where are we with that process?
AMORE: We received a request from the Department of Justice to provide for them our entire voter registration list, and that list includes personally identifiable information, like the last four digits of your Social Security number or your license, driver’s license, or state ID number.
We provide access to anyone, to the public file, which does not include those two data points. We refused that request because Rhode Island state law and federal law does not allow me to do that. They sued for that information. That lawsuit has been dismissed. I anticipate there’ll be an appeal, but that lawsuit was dismissed just recently. It’s pretty clear, Frank, that the law does not allow a Secretary of State to release that information.
My job here is to be an umpire, call balls and strikes, and determine what I can and can’t do under law. And the same was the case when there were folks calling for Donald Trump to be removed from the ballot in Rhode Island based on the 14th Amendment insurrection clause. That’s not Rhode Island law. Donald Trump qualified for the ballot under Rhode Island law, and it’s my job to follow Rhode Island law.
WUN: Getting back to this voter information issue, what, what’s next? Why is it important not to provide the information that they’re requesting?
AMORE: One of the things that we do at the Department of State is we house this information through voter registration. Our voters have the knowledge that we’re going to take good care of that information, that we’re not going to provide it to any outside source. There’s a whole host of reasons for that. You don’t want all that information collected in one place. But philosophically, it’s a violation of the US Constitution. There should not be a national voter database. I think that’s pretty clear in the plain language of the Constitution. It’s also pretty clear in the Federalist Papers that the founders did not want a chief executive to be able to put their thumb on the scale of a national election, and one way to do that is with a national voter database. I’m not alone in this philosophy. There are Republican secretaries of state who refused the request and who feel the same way I do. One of the critical things that we have is to protect our information, make the lack of a threat in terms of voting.
WUN: We do require people to present voter ID, correct?
AMORE: Yes, we do. We are a voter ID state. I think our voter ID law is the best in the nation because it provides an opportunity for you to vote a provisional ballot if you do not have your identification, if you show up and you thought you brought it, but you didn’t. But then that will be rechecked after the fact before that ballot is counted. I’m an advocate of the Rhode Island voter ID law. I think it’s important. We’re highly confident that our voter list is not only accurate, but it has the information that proves who these people are and where they vote.
We have constant conversations nationally about voter fraud. What’s the incidence of voter fraud in Rhode Island? We’ve had a few incidents of voter fraud since I’ve been Secretary of State. They have been prosecuted. They revolve around people voting by mail from two different states, either here in Rhode Island or somewhere else. There’s no law against being on a voter list in two states, but there’s a law against voting from two states. In our post-election audits, we found three cases in 2024. Those cases were prosecuted. The other you may see is folks who are voting from an address that is not their actual address. And, and in both cases, these are very, very rare. In some cases, fraud is based on human error, either at the registration point or someone who did not intend to commit a crime, but they did so. We’re talking about a total of three cases in 2024. They’re inconsequential when it comes to the voter outcome. They’re very, very small numbers. Texas ran their entire voter list, 18.5 million voters, through the federal system, alien verification system. And they came up with a potential 2,700 non-citizen voters. When that tested, many of the 2,700 were actually citizens. They had become citizens, and they ended up disenfranchising a number of Americans. And so, when you think about what that number is in a state that has many, many immigrants that’s about 0.00008%. You’d be hard-pressed to find an impactful number across the country, which would impact the outcome of an election.
WUN: Your response to this gerrymandering that’s going on across the country.
AMORE: I think every state in the nation should have an independent redistricting commission. The federal government should pass that law. Those districts should adhere to true shapes, squares, and rectangles. They should try to abide by political geographic boundaries, cities, and towns, while balancing population. I think that is the only way to move away from this terrible process where candidates pick their voters rather than the other way around.
I absolutely understand why the Democrats have done what they’ve done in California and tried to do in Virginia, because it’s unprecedented for a state like Texas and others to redistrict in mid-decade. This is not good. This is a race to the bottom. It’s not good for American democracy. I think the American people are 100 percent in support of independent redistricting. Our office is going to work on a proposal for Rhode Island, and I know we’re not as impactful. We have two US representatives. So, you know we kind of split our state in half and have to do so based on population. But this should be the case across the country. \
WUN: This is a big election year in Rhode Island. Let me last ask the obligatory question first. Are you running for re-election?
AMORE: I have announced my re-election bid, yes.
WUN: What are the important dates for candidates? When do they have to file their candidacy papers?
WUN: The declaration period is June 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, and that ends at 4:00 PM on the 24th. If you’re a candidate you need to be registered to vote by May 25th, but the key dates are June 22nd, 23rd, 24th, when you can file your candidacy at your local canvassing authority, depending on what office you’re running for, or at our office on West River.
WUN: At your office, is that all positions or just statewide?
AMORE: Providence positions that people can file for at the West River Road office. And, of course, congressional races.
The primary election has been moved to Wednesday, September ninth. The General Assembly passed legislation to move the primary because of the holiday, at the request of the local canvassing clerks. It’s very difficult for them to operate, administer an election, when there’s a holiday in between.
WUN: When is the deadline for voters to register to be eligible to vote in the primary?
AMORE: It’s Monday, August 10th. You can become an unaffiliated voter, or you can switch parties, but you have to do that by Monday, August 10th.
WUN: People can go in and declare, voting for a particular party, but then they can disaffiliate on the way out?
AMORE: Correct. And a change that has happened recently, two years ago, is if you are unaffiliated you remain unaffiliated, no matter what primary you vote in.
