Rhode Island
URI poll: Confidence in R.I. election systems is high, but voters concerned about political violence, A.I. – The Boston Globe
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.
Rhode Island
Authorities provide update on deadly mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island
Authorities said two people were killed and eight more were injured in a mass shooting at Brown University, an Ivy League school in Rhode Island. Authorities said students were on campus for the second day of final exams.
Posted
Rhode Island
RI school superintendent resigns amid antisemitic hazing investigation
A Rhode Island school superintendent has resigned amid an investigation into alleged antisemitic hazing in the district, NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reports.
Smithfield Superintendent Dr. Dawn Bartz announced her resignation in a letter addressed to the school community. Bartz has been on leave since November after a report of hazing at Smithfield High School.
The Jewish Alliance of Rhode Island said five high school football players locked a freshman student in a bathroom, sprayed Lysol at the student and yelled antisemitic slurs.
In her resignation letter, Bartz focused on her successes surrounding academic outcomes, special education and STEM opportunities and other positives for the district, and thanked the community.
“As Smithfield moves forward, I am confident the district will continue to build on this progress
and momentum. I wish all our students, staff, and families continued success in the years ahead,” she wrote.
The letter did not specify a reason for the resignation.
WJAR-TV first reported on the situation on October, when the Bartz released a statement on its investigation.
“The investigation confirmed inappropriate conduct among a small number of students,” Superintendent Dawn Bartz said in a provided statement. “Disciplinary action has been taken in accordance with district policy, and several student-athletes will not participate for the remainder of the season.”
The statement went on to say that there would be mandated training and education in response. However, the involved players were back at practice, which didn’t sit well with the victim’s family. His parents said his son walked into practice and found himself face-to-face with his alleged assailants.
Five football players were initially removed from the team for the remainder of the season but were later reinstated. When asked about the reversal in October, Bartz issued a one-sentence statement saying, “The disciplinary process has concluded and we will not be discussing details involving students.”
Smithfield Town Council President John Tassoni said the situation has deeply divided the community.
“It’s a long time coming,” Tassoni said of Bartz’s resignation. “A lot of people are angry about what happened. A lot of people don’t know the truth of what happened, nor do I.”
An investigation is underway by the school committee’s attorney and a report is expected to be delivered to the school committee sometime next year, Tassoni added. However, some people have concerns about transparency and have floated the possibility of hiring an independent investigator.
The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island said they want the focus to be on student safety.
“While we can’t speculate on the specific reasons behind the superintendent’s decision to resign, we remain focused on what matters most: that Smithfield schools become a place where Jewish students and all students feel safe, valued, and protected from bias and harassment,” President and CEO Adam Greenman wrote in an email.
Rhode Island
Prosecutors in Rhode Island drop charge against former Bay View athletic director
Prosecutors in Rhode Island dropped a fugitive from justice charge against a former Catholic school athletic director.
John Sung was arrested in East Providence last month. He was wanted in Florida for a non-violent felony.
After his arrest, he was fired from his position at St. Mary Academy Bay View in Riverside.
Broward County court records show Sung was taken into custody last week. He posted bond.
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