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Rhode Island
Rhode Island officials ask government for flexibility while residents renew services by paper | ABC6
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island officials sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday for assistance to ensure residents are able to stay enrolled in essential services in response to the RIBridges cyberattack.
In the letter, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo asked the federal government to work with the state of Rhode Island to help residents stay enrolled in Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
On Dec. 5, the RIBridges system was hacked by international ransomware group Brain Ciper, which put the personal data of about 500,000 Rhode Island residents at risk, according to officials.
In the letter, officials said RIBridges was shut down, and as a result Rhode Island residents must submit paper applications, rather than online applications, to enroll for their benefits.
Officials said this time period is when people apply to renew coverage, and ask for the government to “grant the state of Rhode Island any assistance and flexibility it requires within all application rules and regulations.”
In the letter, the Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation said:
Dear Secretaries Becerra and Vilsack:
In light of a major cyberattack, we write to urge your Departments to grant the State of Rhode Island flexibility and time to comply with administrative requirements related to its public benefits programs and to provide any additional support to ensure that eligible individuals do not lose access to needed benefits.
On December 5, 2024, RI Bridges, the State of Rhode Island’s integrated online platform for social services, was hacked and the personal data (including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and bank information) of approximately 500,000 people was stolen and has been held for ransom. The State directed the vendor responsible for administering the platform to shut down RI Bridges in order to remove all malicious code and remediate the threat. Individuals now must submit paper applications to secure their benefits. The impact could be large since RI Bridges manages enrollment and eligibility verifications for programs, including Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and more. HealthSource RI, the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace was also affected by this hack, which comes during the annual open-enrollment period for health insurance, when people apply for or renew coverage.
We appreciate everything your Departments have done already to assist Rhode Island with this situation, but given the scope of this hack and that it has targeted our most vulnerable constituents, we ask that you grant the State of Rhode Island any assistance and flexibility it requires within all application rules and regulations.
Thank you for your attention to this request, and we look forward to your prompt reply.
In the meantime, Rhode Island officials advise residents to protect their data, freeze your credit, monitor your credit, request a free fraud alert on your files, use two-factor authentication for accounts, and be aware.
For more information, call the RIBridges call center at 833-918-6603 or visit cyberaltert.ri.gov.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island shifts its primary to Wednesday, Sept. 9, easing a Labor Day poll setup crunch
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island’s primary elections will now be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, moving it back from the typical Tuesday election day because it fell too close to Labor Day.
Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat, signed off on the change earlier this week. The primary election had been scheduled for Sept. 8, which is the day after the holiday weekend.
State and local officials had requested the change after raising concerns about having enough time to set up polls for voters. However, under the legislation enacted, the filing deadlines will remain the same.
“We have to set up over 400 polling places around the state on the day before the election,” Nick Lima, the registrar and director of elections for the city of Cranston, told lawmakers at a hearing in January. “That’s very difficult to do on a holiday because many of our polls are schools, social halls and churches.”
It’s not unusual for states to change their election day. Lawmakers in neighboring Massachusetts changed the state’s 2026 primary election day from Sept. 15 to Sept. 1, arguing that doing so will help improve voter turnout.
Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.
Legislation seeking to move up Delaware’s primary election by several months has been introduced in the statehouse, but previous attempts to do so have stalled.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police are investigating a crash that happened on I-295 North in Cumberland Tuesday night.
The crash happened in the right lane near Exit 22 just before 9 p.m.
It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash or if anyone was injured.
12 News has reached out to Rhode Island State Police for more information but has not heard back.
Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts.
Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the free WPRI 12+ TV app.
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Rhode Island’s Democrat and Republican primary elections will officially be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9 this year, instead of the usual Tuesday election day.
Lawmakers passed the bill at the urging of state and local officials, who were concerned that an election day falling the day after Labor Day would not give them enough time to set up polls for the arrival of voters.
Gov. Dan McKee signed the bill on April 20, officially moving the primary day for 2026.
Which races will be on the ballot? The Republican and Democrat nominees for a swath of local offices – most notably governor but also lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Why was RI’s primary day moved?
At a hearing on the bill earlier this year, Randy Rossi, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns explained the “significant logistical and financial challenges” municipalities otherwise would have faced having an election the day after Labor Day.
“Beyond cost, municipalities face serious logistical challenges accessing and setting up more than 430 polling locations on a major federal holiday, a process that often requires many hours and access to facilities that are typically closed and unstaffed on Labor Day,” he said.
“Compounding these challenges, many municipalities conduct early voting in city or town halls that must also serve as primary day polling locations,” Rossi noted.
Without changes to current law, he said, “municipalities would be required to conduct early voting and primary day polling simultaneously, often in the same limited space and with the same poll workers, requiring additional staffing and facilities.”
By the time this legislative hearing took place in January, other states facing similar issues, including Massachusetts, had already adjusted their primary dates, “and Rhode Island itself has demonstrated that alternative scheduling can be successful, as occurred during the statewide Wednesday primary in 2018,” Rossi said.
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