A little more than 1% of Rhode Island voters have cast early ballots ahead of September primaries

Voting booths at Providence City Hall during early voting for the 2023 special congressional and state Senate primaries. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)

It’s been nine days since Rhode Island voters could begin voting ahead of the Sept. 10 primary elections, but few have actually done so.

As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s office reported 11,647 ballots cast either by mail or early, in-person. That represents 1.5% of the state’s 720,626 eligible voters.

The municipality with the highest early vote turnout? Providence — with 1,419 ballots (out of 95,684 active registered voters). Roughly 85% of those votes were mailed.

The municipality with the fewest early votes overall is Central Falls, with 42 cast. Rhode Island’s smallest city has 7,636 total registered voters, according to the Rhode Island Department of State’s website.

John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said he was not surprised by the low turnout, given that nearly half of the 113 Rhode Island General Assembly races — 57 — feature an incumbent running unopposed in both primary and general elections.

“Even though it’s a presidential year, it’s a sleepy primary year in Rhode Island,” he said.

Wanted: Rhode Island legislative candidates

The big races to watch, Marion said, are the Rhode Island Senate and mayoral races in Cranston — which had 996 early ballots cast as of Thursday.

Cranston has 55,577 registered voters.

“In low turnout primaries, it’s a ground game,” Marion said. “If you don’t have a lot of competitive races that are driving voters, then you’re going to have these low numbers.”

In-person early voting continues through 4 p.m. Sept. 9.

A list of early voting locations can be found here .

Those voting by mail have through 8 p.m. on Sept. 10 to submit their ballots to drop boxes at their local Board of Canvassers or mailed to the state’s Board of Elections at 2000 Plainfield Pike, Suite A  Cranston, RI 02921. No postage is necessary.

This story was updated to reflect early voting numbers as of 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30, 2024.

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