Section 545-RICR-10-00-1.5 - Final Selection of NomineesA. By majority vote in public session, the Commission shall select no fewer than three (3) nor greater than five (5) highly qualified persons to fill each judicial vacancy from the list of those persons interviewed who meet the requirements of the Rhode Island Constitution, the Statute, these Rules, and all other legal requirements for the judicial office. Said vote shall be held in public session, provided however, that the Commission may adjourn in closed session prior to or during said public session to deliberate upon said applicants. Any such closed session shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Open Meetings Act, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 42-46 and R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-4. 1. The voting procedure shall be as follows: a. Each Commissioner shall have up to five (5) affirmative votes and shall only be allowed to cast one vote per applicant. A recusal shall not count as one of the allotted votes.b. Initially, the Commissioners shall vote on all applicants who have been interviewed. The voting shall be completed after the first round if no fewer than three and no greater than five candidates receive at least five (5) votes.c. If more than five applicants receive a total of five (5) or more votes in the first round, then the five candidates who received the most votes shall constitute the list of nominees to be submitted to the Governor and the voting shall be concluded.d. However, if a list of five candidates with the most votes cannot be ascertained due to a tie vote, then a second round of voting shall be required. Excluded from this second round of voting shall be all candidates who received fewer than five votes cast on the previous vote. Also excluded from this list shall be any applicant who received a number of votes greater than the tied candidates. The names of the applicants who received a number of votes greater than the tied candidates shall be included on the list of nominees to be submitted to the Governor.e. For the second and subsequent rounds of voting, each Commissioner shall be allotted the same number of votes as there are positions to fill in such run-off vote and the applicant/interviewee(s) with the most votes shall be the remaining nominee(s). A recusal shall not count as one of the allotted votes.f. This voting procedure shall be repeated until a list of nominees is completed for submission to the Governor.g. In the event that after the initial vote, fewer than three applicants receive a minimum of five votes, then the initial vote shall be considered to be a preliminary vote for the purpose of choosing the ten or more (in case of a tie) applicants with the most votes after such preliminary vote. Thereafter, the procedure set forth above shall apply to all subsequent votes.h. The names of the nominees selected by the Commission shall be submitted to the Governor in alphabetical order along with a copy of all investigative information and documents relative to each nominee.545 R.I. Code R. 545-RICR-10-00-1.5