The state board shall, immediately after completing the counting, canvass, and tabulating of the votes cast for general officers and senators and representatives in the general assembly and declaring the result, furnish the governor a certificate of the names of the persons who have been elected general officers for the ensuing year, and shall also furnish to the secretary of state a certificate of the names of the persons elected as senators and representatives in the general assembly. Whenever the count, canvass, and tabulation of the board shows that there has been a failure to elect a senator or representative or any of them in any district, the board shall immediately certify the fact to the secretary of state, specifying which of the officers were not elected.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-22-6