Rhode Island General Laws Title 17. Elections § 17-14-1.2. Candidate required to be a qualified voter in the election

(a) No person shall be eligible to file a declaration of candidacy as an independent candidate nor shall a person be eligible to be a candidate or be eligible to be voted for unless the person shall, at the time of filing the declaration, be qualified to vote in the election within the district for the office which that person seeks.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, individuals residing in state senate districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16 and 17 may file a declaration of candidacy for state senator and/or senatorial district committee member for those senate districts for the 2004 election pursuant to § 17-14-1, provided they were registered to vote in the election for that district on or before June 16, 2004.