R.I. Board of Elections finds ‘no obvious pattern of fraud’ in Matos nomination papers

This article originally appeared in the Boston Globe on August 15, 2023 and was written by Edward Fitzpatrick.  

John M. Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, issued a statement afterward, noting that while the Board of Elections did not find a significant change in the total number of qualified signatures for Matos, it did reach different conclusions as to whether dozens of individual signatures were qualified. And he said that highlights inconsistencies in the process at local boards of canvassers.

“It is clear that changes to the process must be made, including additional training, a clearer chain of communications when problem signatures are identified, more extensive regulations, and a revised election calendar that will give the Board of Elections more time to investigate in the future when questions arise about the validity of signatures,” Marion said. “We believe that the majority of the board, that voted to keep this issue before them for future improvements, was correct, and Vice Chair Sholes’ continued dismissiveness of the issue from the beginning is concerning.”

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