Today is the deadline for prospective political candidates to submit enough Rhode Island voters' signatures in order to get on this year's ballot.

The signatures, however, must be validated, or certified, in order to count. The thresholds range from 50 signatures for the state House of Representatives and many town/city offices to 1,000 signatures for the U.S. Senate.

You can chart candidates' progress in gathering valid signatures at the Secretary of State's Web site, by using its searchable database.

The number of signatures that have been certified for every candidate will be updated each morning, according to the Secretary of State Ralph Mollis's office.

The office has until July 18 to finish certifying the names for candidates to make the ballot for the Sept. 9 primary or Nov. 4 election.

At 5 p.m. on July 18, Mollis will hold a public lottery at the State House to determine the order in which unendorsed candidates for Congress and the General Assembly will appear on primary ballots. The lottery will also set the order in which recognized political parties and independent candidates will appear on the November ballot.

The 2,800 Rhode Islanders who filed candidacy declarations last month have had since July 1 to collect voters' signatures.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney