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.