VOTER PARTICIPATION is expected to increase significantly this fall, both in Rhode Island and across America. But how would Rhode Island voters feel if they learned that their votes wouldn’t count this year?

Sound far-fetched? Well, it almost happened.

In April, Common Cause Rhode Island learned that there were three vacancies, and a fourth expected this summer, on the seven-member Rhode Island Board of Elections. On April 21, Common Cause wrote the governor explaining that if the Senate recessed its session in June, and the governor had not made appointments to the Board of Elections by then, the board would not have a quorum to certify the results of this fall’s state and federal elections. If that happened, Rhode Islanders would go to the polls in vain during a presidential election year when voter turnout is expected to break records.

On May 21, The Journal reported that Governor Carcieri had finally submitted three appointments to the Board of Elections for the Senate’s advice and consent (two of the vacancies occurred in 2005 and 2006; the third seat was vacated in March of this year). These appointments came only after inquiries from the media following our April 21 letter. The Senate confirmed two appointments a week before ending the legislative session, on June 26.

Here’s the point the Board of Elections cliffhanger illustrates: Seats on boards and commissions must be filled with new appointments in a timely manner if these bodies are to function at full strength with a healthy turnover of capable and energetic members representing the public. But is that happening?

A recently completed Common Cause study sought to find out:

• Whether the public can ascertain which seats are filled on state boards, which board members are serving past the expiration of their terms, and which seats are empty.

• Whether the public can ascertain whether the governor is making appointments to these boards as terms expire or seats are otherwise vacated.

• Whether the public can ascertain whether or when the Senate acts on gubernatorial appointments.

Common Cause discovered that there is no accurate source of information about the membership of state boards and commissions. The information available to the public is difficult to find and often unreliable. It is particularly difficult to ascertain how many seats on state boards are vacant (or being filled by members with expired terms).

After reading news stories about turmoil in the membership of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, interested citizens might want to find out who currently serves on that body. Those citizens would find that the secretary of state’s Web site posts a list that contains names of members who have reportedly left that board. Anyone searching the Web site of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation for information about board members would find nothing at all.

As to the second and third questions, the only way we and the public can track the fate of a gubernatorial appointment once it is sent to the Senate is to read — daily — every Senate journal and every Senate committee’s agenda.

We discovered something interesting about how the Senate records its activities. State law provides that if the Senate does not act on a gubernatorial appointment within 60 legislative days, the appointment will take effect as if confirmed. A typical session lasts about 60 legislative days. However, the Senate routinely “bundles” multiple meeting days into one official journal, which is then counted as a single legislative day.

In 2005, 16 days the Senate actually met were reduced to six legislative days. In 2007, four days the Senate met were reduced to two legislative days. The stratagem has been used once so far in 2008. This practice postpones the deadline when an appointment would automatically take effect, thus allowing the Senate to “stall” an appointment past the end of the session in which it was made.

Artificially reducing legislative days in this manner creates the strong impression that the Senate is playing games with the statutory deadlines governing its advice-and-consent responsibilities.

The cure? Rhode Island state government should not react only when a potential crisis is looming.

Rhode Island should have a centralized database, accessible to the public, about membership on state boards and commissions. The secretary of state should have the statutory authority to require boards and commission to supply up-to-date and accurate information about their agencies to his or her office for posting on the official Web site. The governor must comply with his or her statutory duty to make regular and prompt appointments to state boards and commissions. The Senate must abandon “bundling” its meeting days into single journals and must act promptly on the governor’s appointments.

To read our appointments report, “Democracy Deferred II,” please visit: www.commoncauseri.org.

Christine Lopes is executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island.