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The latest survey polled 500 state residents between Aug. 15 and Sept. 8. The results were released Tuesday, with a margin of error of 6 percentage points.
“While there are national polls that also focus on American confidence in election administration, our survey results offer a detailed snapshot of Rhode Islanders’ levels of trust in election authorities and systems and trust in government as well as attitudes about democracy, media, policy, and political participation in the state,” Emily Lynch, a professor of political science at URI, said in a statement.
“The survey results indicate that Rhode Islanders trust state election systems, but at the same time they have concerns about the upcoming election in a number of areas, such as AI-generated fake political information and political violence,” Lynch continued.
Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they believe votes are “very often” counted accurately in Rhode Island elections and campaigns. Twenty-nine percent said votes are counted accurately “somewhat often,” another 13 percent said “not often,” and 8 percent believe votes are “not at all often” tallied accurately.
Results also show most respondents have a “great deal or fair amount of trust in election authorities,” from poll workers up to the state Board of Elections and Department of State, as well as in the state’s voting machines, pollsters said.
However, that trust wanes a bit when it comes to mail ballot drop boxes and using the U.S. Postal Service to mail a ballot: Just 34 percent and 35 percent of Republicans had at least “a fair amount” of trust in those two methods, respectively. Eighty four percent of Democrats and 43 percent of independents feel that way about both of those voting options.
There is also a partisan divide over voter fraud.
“A majority of Republicans and independents are somewhat or very concerned about voter fraud – specifically noncitizen voting, citizens voting more than once, vote tampering, and people claiming to be another person in order to vote,” pollsters said. “Democrats lagged on all four questions – with the highest level of concern (37 percent) found with regard to vote tampering.”
Still, majorities of Democrats (85 percent), Republicans (79 percent), and independents (73 percent) think political violence “is a somewhat or very big problem in the U.S. today” and a “smaller majority of all three are concerned about civil unrest after election day in Rhode Island,” the survey found.
Meanwhile, approximately six in 10 respondents said they are worried artificial intelligence will “somewhat or greatly hurt the election process.”
Seventy-nine percent of Republicans, 77 percent of Democrats, and 77 percent of independents indicated they are “somewhat or very concerned about the use of AI-generated political media, such as fake images or video, and support state legislation to ban AI-generated political media,” according to poll results.
In the presidential election, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris holds a firm lead amongst Rhode Island voters over former President Donald Trump, polling 53 percent to 27 percent, respectively. In the U.S. Senate race, most of those surveyed backed incumbent Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, or 52 percent, over the 24 percent who said they will vote for his Republican challenger, state Representative Patricia Morgan.
The results also showed an increase of five percentage points – up to 22 percent – of Rhode Islanders who consider the state’s economy “very or somewhat strong.”
Respondents also indicated they largely back more state spending on schools, housing, and road repair.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
Local News
A Rhode Island man is facing charges after allegedly body slamming an Attleboro mother of two during a suspected road rage incident Friday, according to court records.
Police responded near Newport Avenue at Highland Avenue in Attleboro just before 9 a.m. on Friday, where they found Hailea Soare on the ground, bleeding and crying, according to a police report filed in Attleboro District Court.
Gladior Kwesiah, of Pawtucket, was arrested without incident and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, vandalism of property, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, according to court dockets.
Multiple witnesses told police that Kwesiah and Soares were arguing outside their cars after her vehicle allegedly rear-ended his vehicle at the intersection, according to the report.
All three witnesses allege that Kwesiah, 26, “body slammed” her onto the pavement, while two told police that he also stepped on her glasses that fell to the ground. One witness said that Soares “smacked” Kwesiah before he picked her up, lifted her over his head, and dropped her on her head, according to police.
The body slam can be seen in videos shared by local news stations. The police report notes that Soares is 5 feet tall and 120 pounds, while Kwesiah is 6 foot 3 inches and more than 300 pounds.
Soares was transported to Study Memorial Hospital, where she was treated for a fractured knee, fractured foot, and head laceration, according to police.
She also suffered damage to her eye socket and “a serious skull injury,” a GoFundMe started by her family said. The fundraiser has collected more than $18,000 from nearly 500 donors out of its $30,000 goal, as of Sunday evening.
“As a single mother of two young children, Hailea now faces an uphill battle – physically, emotionally, and financially,” the GoFundMe said. “These injuries will keep her out of work for months. The financial strain of medical bills, therapy costs, and providing for her children is overwhelming.”
Kwesiah was held in the Bristol County House of Correction after not posting bail on Friday.
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A man who stole an unoccupied cruiser in Rhode Island was stopped on Route 2 in Preston after a chase early Saturday morning, according to Connecticut State Police.
Connecticut State Police was notified about a stolen Providence, Rhode Island, police cruiser on Interstate 95 South crossing into Connecticut from Rhode Island around 2:30 a.m.
The stolen cruiser was reportedly seen on I-95 south near exit 89, but then took the exit 88 off ramp to Route 117 in Groton as it saw another Connecticut State Police cruiser approaching.
Multiple Connecticut State Police cruisers turned on their emergency lights and sirens in an attempt to stop the stolen cruiser. According to Connecticut State Police, the stolen cruiser was traveling over 100 mph at times on Route 117.
Ledyard Police Department was then notified and deployed stop sticks near Route 117 and Route 2a. The stolen cruiser slowed to a stop near Route 2a and the driver was taken into custody.
The 27-year-old man from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is facing charges including reckless driving, engaging police in pursuit, failure to drive in the proper lane, larceny and interfering with officer/resisting. He was not able to post the $50,000 bond and is due in court on Monday.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 4, 2025, results for each game:
26-32-43-54-56, Powerball: 24, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
03-09-27-29-33, Lucky Ball: 06
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Midday: 5-8-4-4
Evening: 1-2-7-5
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
13-16-19-23-33, Extra: 30
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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