R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-15-39: Preservation of primary records.

All declarations of candidacy, nomination papers, and all requests for withdrawal of names of candidates, whether before or after the holding of a primary, when filed, and all protests and requests for recounts, shall be open, under proper regulation, to public inspection, and the state board shall preserve these records in its office not less than twenty-six (26) calendar months from the date of filing.