---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- MAIL BALLOTS"
description: "Exempts emergency mail ballots from the requirement to have certain wording regarding \"mail voters\" on the ballot."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 953"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 953 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Appollonio", "Dimitri", "Patalano", "Thompson"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-04-04"
last_action: "2025-06-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c20e94aa-a305-478c-b84a-05b29a728d93"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "9f13017b5995912e28e965043869db7272a151aded392c4784863e00572b904d"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ri"]
---

# Rhode Island SB 953 (2025) — AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- MAIL BALLOTS

Exempts emergency mail ballots from the requirement to have certain wording regarding "mail voters" on the ballot.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **953** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0953.pdf)

## Votes

- Passage — **35–0** (pass) · upper
- IN CONCURRENCE — **63–2** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Appollonio — primary (person)
- Dimitri — primary (person)
- Patalano — primary (person)
- Thompson — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-04-04** 04/04/2025 Introduced, referred to Senate Judiciary `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2025-04-18** 04/18/2025 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration
- **2025-04-21** 04/21/2025 Meeting postponed (04/24/2025)
- **2025-04-29** 04/29/2025 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (05/01/2025)
- **2025-05-01** 05/01/2025 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-05-06** 05/06/2025 Placed on Senate Calendar (05/08/2025) `reading-3`
- **2025-05-08** 05/08/2025 Senate read and passed `passage`
- **2025-05-09** 05/09/2025 Referred to House State Government & Elections `referral-committee`
- **2025-05-25** 05/25/2025 Scheduled for consideration (05/29/2025)
- **2025-05-29** 05/29/2025 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-05-30** 05/30/2025 Placed on House Calendar (06/03/2025) `reading-3`
- **2025-06-03** 06/03/2025 House passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2025-06-05** 06/05/2025 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-06-10** 06/10/2025 Signed by Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/c20e94aa-a305-478c-b84a-05b29a728d93`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).