Rhode Island
Rhode Island voter turnout cracks 25% on final day of early voting • Rhode Island Current
More than 25% of Rhode Island’s registered voters already cast ballots in the Nov. 5 election as of midday Monday, according to the Rhode Island Department of State turnout tracker.
Early voting continues through 4 p.m. Monday, with designated locations in every city and town.
The 205,220 Rhode Islanders who cast ballots by mail or early, in-person as of noon represent more than 40% of total turnout in the 2020 presidential election. The 2020 election saw 64% participation among Rhode Island voters, with nearly two-thirds voting by mail or through early “emergency” in-person voting authorized because of the pandemic. In 2016, total turnout was just under 60%.
This year marks the first presidential election cycle featuring expanded mail voting and regular, in-person early voting hours in Rhode Island — thanks to a law passed in June 2022 — making it difficult to compare voting behavior this year with past election cycles, said John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island.
“We’re just settling into new patterns of voting as these choices expand,” Marion said in an interview Monday. “It’s going to take a while for patterns to emerge.”
Marion was surprised, though, that early, in-person voting appeared more popular among Rhode Island voters than mail ballots, contrary to the trends in other states that offer both mail and in-person, early voting.
More than 157,000 Rhode Islanders had voted early, in-person as of noon, compared with nearly 48,000 who submitted ballots by mail.
A line at Warwick City Hall Friday
Enthusiasm for pre-Election Day voting was strongest in Warwick, where nearly 10,800 voters cast ballots at City Hall by midday Monday. Mayor Frank Picozzi pointed to Warwick’s high turnout in past presidential election cycles as explanation for its strong numbers ahead of Tuesday.
Unlike other state or local candidates, though, Picozzi has not put early voting at the forefront of his own reelection campaign.
“As long as people vote, I don’t care how they do it,” Picozzi said in an interview Monday morning.
Picozzi, an independent vying for his second term, cast his ballot on the first day of early voting on Oct. 16. At the time, City Hall was still quiet, which was not the case on Friday, when voters waited upwards of an hour during peak times to cast ballots, Picozzi said.
Social media reports showed long lines winding around Warwick City Hall again on Monday.
Neighboring Cranston, however, has not seen lines longer than a minute, despite several days of record-breaking early voting numbers, said Nick Lima, city elections director.
Weekend hours in four communities
Cranston was one of four municipalities that extended early voting hours into the weekend — alongside Providence, East Providence, and North Kingstown. On Saturday, more than 15,000 voters came to the Pastore Youth Center on Gansett Avenue in Cranston during designated early voting hours, Lima said.
“Aside from parking being a little tight, it’s not been a problem,” said Lima.
The Cranston Board of Canvassers shifted its early voting location from City Hall to the youth center in order to accommodate the larger crowds expected.
Lima chalked up the strong turnout to the headline presidential race along with a host of state and local races of interest. Alongside a contentious mayoral contest between Republican Mayor Ken Hopkins and his Democratic challenger, City Councilor Robert Ferri, all nine city council seats feature contested matchups.
Mail ballots most popular in Providence
Providence boasted the third-highest number of ballots cast or mailed in, but the highest number of mail ballots, with more than 5,600 mail ballots as of midday Monday. That reflects a “local culture,” in the capital city, where candidates make mail ballot voting a central part of their strategy, Marion said.
“Campaigns adjust their mobilization tactics based on what options exist,” Marion said. “In the same way that campaigns in Providence emphasize mail ballots, it may very well be that campaigns in Warwick are emphasizing early voting.”
The lack of contested state and local races across Providence might also work to the city’s advantage in racking up votes ahead of Election Day; research suggests voters who are undecided are more likely to wait until the day of to participate.
All three cities with the highest numbers of early voting — Warwick, Cranston, and Providence — backed Biden in 2020. Multiple polls, including a University of New Hampshire poll released Sunday, show Rhode Island voters backing Harris by double-digit percentage points this year, though certain cities and towns in the western part of the state will be close calls between Harris and Trump.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in all cities and towns on Election Day, except for Block Island, where polls open at 9 a.m. Voters can find their Election Day polling place by looking up their voting record online here.
Mail ballots must be returned to the Board of Elections via a secure drop box, a local board of canvassers’ office or an in-person polling place by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be counted.
Rhode Island does not allow same-day registration for local and state elections; however, unregistered voters can still vote in the presidential race at specific, designated voting locations within the state.
The Rhode Island Board of Elections will begin releasing results of the Nov. 5 election shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. But final results, including those from military and overseas voters, will not be tallied for several more days. The elections board expects to certify results on Nov. 12.
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Rhode Island
Bodycam footage shows moments police respond to Pawtucket shooting
Police bodycam footage shows the moments officers arrived to the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The shooting on Feb. 16 at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena killed Rhonda Dorgan and Aidan Dorgan, the ex-wife and son of the shooter, who died by suicide.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Gerald Dorgan, Rhonda’s father, died from his injuries this week. His wife, Linda Dorgan, and family friend Thomas Geruso remain hospitalized.
Around five minutes after the first officer arrives, he beings helping paramedics with a man who identifies himself as Aidan. Twelve minutes in, Aidan Dorgan is transported to the hospital, where he would later die from his injuries.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
For the last 10 minutes of the footage, the officer then begins helping paramedics transport the other three gunshot victims.
The video ends with police prepping witness interviews.
The shooting rocked the Pawtucket community. Chris Librizzi, head coach of the Blackstone Valley Schools hockey team impacted by the shooting, said the players and coaching staff “are devastated over the events that took place at Lynch Arena on Monday and intimately affected one of our teammates.”
As authorities continue investigating the shooting in Pawtucket, three patients remain in critical condition.
“We will lean on each other and support one another, as we have always done as a team,” he added.
Pawtucket police said two handguns were found at the scene after the shooting, a Sig Sauer P226 and Glock. Other weapons have been seized at the suspect’s storage unit in Maine.
Investigators continue reviewing all video evidence from before, during and after the shooting, including surveillance footage from the Dennis M. Lynch Arena, police body-worn camera footage and other records — a high school sports livestream captured the shooting from a distance — police said.
Rhode Island
Man killed in RI shooting; suspect involved in Mass. car crash that killed 2 others
A man has died after a shooting in Cranston, Rhode Island, and investigators say a suspect was later involved in a car crash in Swansea, Massachusetts, that killed two other people.
The shooting victim was found Thursday on Legion Way, shot multiple times in the chest, Cranston police told NBC affiliate WJAR-TV. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he later died. His name has not been released.
The suspect initially fled on foot, setting off a shelter-in-place order while investigators searched the area.
Police said Friday that investigators identified a suspect vehicle, which was later spotted by Massachusetts State Police. A trooper followed the car down Route 6 and Interstate 195, but stopped when it crossed back into Rhode Island. The car was later involved in a crash on Route 136 in Swansea, Mass.
Swansea police say that crash on Route 136 (James Reynolds Road) resulted in the deaths of two other people.
According to the Swansea Police Department, two officers saw a white Infinity G37 speed past them around 12:18 a.m. Friday on Route 6, otherwise known as Grand Army of the Republic Highway. Moments later, officers observed that the vehicle had crashed into the side of a blue Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136.
Both vehicles sustained catastrophic damage, police said.
The vehicle that was struck was fully engulfed in flames. First responders and bystanders tried to extinguish the fire, but both occupants — a man and a woman — were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Their names have not been released.
The 28-year-old Infinity driver, who struck the victims’ Subaru, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries and later into custody by Cranston Police. They have not been publicly identified at this time.
Swansea police said they are aware that the Infinity was the subject of a police pursuit, and know the driver was wanted in connection to the Rhode Island homicide investigation. While Swansea police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect’s vehicle, however, they say they were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the deadly crash.
The crash in Swansea is under investigation by Massachusetts authorities, including state police and the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office. Meanwhile, Cranston police said they would give an update on their investigation around 1 p.m.
Rhode Island
RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know
House Speaker Shekarchi unveils 2026 RI housing legislative package
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s nine-bill package for 2026 seeks to cut red tape and relax rules on parking, dividing lots and staircases.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is once again taking aim at the regulations he says are stifling new homebuilding.
The Warwick Democrat unveiled his sixth annual suite of housing legislation on Thursday, Feb. 26, a few weeks after announcing he would not be running for governor this year.
“We are still trying to play catch-up for all the years that Rhode Island was dead last in the country for new housing starts,” Shekarchi said. “While Rhode Island remains a relatively affordable option for people moving here from other states, our own residents are too often priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in.”
The legislative text of the nine-bill housing package, and with it the specifics of how it would work, were not available for Thursday’s news conference.
But highlights of the package, according to summaries, include:
- Infill housing. Allow property owners to divide lots in single-family zoning districts, creating multiple dwellings instead of one, provided they have water and sewer service.
- Parking maximums. Put new limits on how much off-street parking communities require for new apartment buildings.
- Homeless Bill of Rights. Expand the state’s Homeless Bill of Rights to require 15-day notice to the occupants of encampments before local authorities clear them.
- Emergency shelters. Let communities build temporary shelters, such as the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence, during a state of emergency.
- Stairs. Legalize the construction of four-story apartment buildings with a single staircase.
- Affordable housing taxes. Overhaul the tax system for income-restricted housing covered by the state’s “8 Law.”
Is land-use reform working?
Since Shekarchi was elected speaker in 2021, the General Assembly has passed dozens of bills he backed that tweaked state land-use statutes or streamlined the process for building.
How successful this approach has been is subject to debate.
Many local elected officials wary of development in their communities continue to rail against efforts to erode their power over construction.
Others in the growing Yes In My Back Yard movement see Rhode Island’s piecemeal approach as inadequate in comparison with the scale of the affordability problem and what other states are doing.
As evidence that his changes are making a difference, Shekarchi said Rhode Island saw a 70% increase in building permits in 2023 and a more modest increase in 2024. (Statistics for last year were not immediately available.)
Gov. Dan McKee’s 2030 plan calls for 15,000 new housing units built by that year.
Democratic primary challenger Helena Foulkes is slated to roll out her housing plan on Monday.
It is expected to include a millionaires tax to fund affordable housing, a revolving fund and target of 20,000 new homes.
What would the new laws do?
Letting property owners put multiple homes on a plot of land is one of the most direct ways that lawmakers can encourage the construction of more homes, but it is also one of the most controversial.
That’s especially true in areas zoned for large lots and single-family homes.
How far the new bill allowing lots to be subdivided in single-family zones goes is unclear. It is sponsored by Rep. Stephen Casey, D-Woonsocket.
Legislation setting maximum parking requirements for new developments, introduced by Rep. Joshua Giraldo, D-Central Falls, would apply to areas accessible by public transit.
Critics of off-street parking requirements say they make it harder to build new apartments and make the units that are built more expensive.
Shekarchi proposed the emergency shelter bill last year. It passed the House and died in the Senate.
It was the result of how long it took state officials to navigate Rhode Island’s building code and open the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence.
The staircase bill, sponsored by Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat and chair of the House’s home affordability study commission, follows a wave of cities and states relaxing rules on how many exits are required in new construction.
Currently, the state building code requires two stairways in buildings with more than three stories, and fire officials have opposed all efforts to change that.
Speakman’s bill would allow four-story buildings with a maximum of 16 units with a single staircase.
Supporters of single-stair buildings say they allow development of small sites that would otherwise sit vacant and allow family-sized units with more light and better ventilation.
A previous Rhode Island single-stair bill would have allowed six stories, but it died in committee.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order in mid-February to study the idea.
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