Rhode Island 2026 Session Status: In Committee 7 D cosponsors

HB 7980 — AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- REGISTRATION OF VOTERS

Last action — 03/10/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 27, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 7 sponsors

    7 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (7 D).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Increases the role of the DMV in the voter registration and address verification process, by establishing very specific obligations and responsibilities that must be followed before offering an individual an application to register to vote.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. 03/10/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study

  2. 03/06/2026 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/10/2026)

  3. 02/27/2026 Introduced, referred to House State Government & Elections

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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7 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 107 not signed on

Sponsors (7)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (107)

107 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 107 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 7980 do?
Increases the role of the DMV in the voter registration and address verification process, by establishing very specific obligations and responsibilities that must be followed before offering an individual an application to register to vote.
Who sponsors HB 7980?
HB 7980 is sponsored by Jacquelyn M. Baginski (Democratic), Raymond A. Hull (Democratic), Patricia A. Serpa (Democratic), Deborah A. Fellela (Democratic), Brandon T. Voas (Democratic), Karen Alzate (Democratic), and Mary Duffy Messier (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 7980?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 27, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 7980?
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Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

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