Introduction
The Womxn Project has put together this page of information for you as an organization to use when communicating with members of the public about this bill.
The purpose of this guide is to give you/your organization talking points that help communicate what the Rhode Island Voting Rights Act is to members of the community, especially those who may not be familiar with the bill, or may not know how legislation works at the State level. In other words, it is a communication tool. Our goal is to make understanding, supporting, and/or getting involved with the RI VRA more accessible to the general public.
This guide includes the following:
- An easy-to-understand explanation of what the Rhode Island Voting Rights Act is.
- The main goals of the bill.
- Why this bill needs support.
- How your organization can grow support for the bill.
- Resources your organization can use.
What is the rhode island voting rights act?
The Rhode Island Voting Rights Act, or RI VRA, is a bill that is based on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a federal law that was put into place to prohibit voter suppression and to protect voting rights, especially for people of color. The 1965 VRA is a landmark piece of civil rights legislation.
The RI VRA is a new and improved version of the 1965 bill that expands protections for Rhode Islanders and ensures that voting rights remain protected for everyone. This way, if something happens to the Voting Rights Act at the federal level, such as certain protections being removed, Rhode Islanders will be less impacted by these changes and will remain protected.
Main Goals of the bill:
- Prohibition of voter suppression and dilution.
- Protections against Voter intimidation.
- The creation of a public, statewide database for election and demographic data.
- Protections against discrimination.
- Improve language access.
- Clear instructions that guide judges to interpret laws in the most pro-voter, pro-democracy way possible.
Why support and care about the RI VRA?
- Some voter protections have already been removed.
-Example: SCOTUS Callais Decision
- The President/members of Congress are pushing for legislation that will negatively impact voting rights.
-Example: SAVE Act
- We cannot protect the other issues we care about if we cannot vote, which is why we need to start with protecting voting rights. Losing certain voter protections or the right to vote altogether will take away any power the people have.
Ways Your Organization Can Grow Support for the RI VRA:
- Host presentations/community discussions about the bill.
- Ask members of your community to spread the word.
- Ask members of your community to fill out postcards, then return those postcards to us.
- Create community projects around the bill and invite community members to join you.
- Make posts on social media.
Feel free to use the following resources:
Postcards for getting people activated
Ask friends, family, and your community members to fill these postcards out and hand them back to you. Then, return them to The Womxn Project. We will deliver them to legislators at the start of the 2027 legislative session in January.
Download English Version Download Spanish Version Posters for printing and sharing
Add your logo to the design, print out posters, and use them at events, on social media, and to share with others!
Download PDF Primary voting day flyers
Raise awareness about the Primaries in time for September 9th! Print out these quarter sheets, cut them out, and use them as flyers to hand out to your community members.
Download PDF 
