Rhode Island polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m., but a record number of voters already cast their ballots by mail or through in-person early voting. According to the state Board of Elections, the surge in these other methods will affect when Rhode Islanders should expect to hear final results.
Antonia Ayres-Brown
Newport Bureau Reporter
The Public's Radio
aayresbrown@ripr.org
@aayresbrown
Posted inArticle, Politics
‘My deepest sorrow is that we have lost our constitution’: Rhode Island’s centenarian voters weigh this election year
Many Rhode Island voters say this year has been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic and one of the most contentious presidential elections in history. For a small group, 2020 also marks another milestone: their one hundredth birthday. For some of these centenarians, the upcoming presidential election will be the twentieth they’ve voted in. Reporter Antonia Ayres-Brown spoke with a few of them about how this political moment compares to others they lived through.
Posted inEpisode
‘Today is just the Reagan years on steroids’: A Cranston postal worker and musician tells his story
For our One Square Mile series, we’re focusing on the issues framing this election year through the stories of voters. Richard Brown is a postal worker and musician in Cranston. While voting-by-mail surges in popularity, and many postal workers find themselves at the center of political debate in the general election, Brown has watched both of his careers become entangled in this year’s political discord.
Posted inArticle, Politics
RI Board of Elections reverses Newport Canvassing Authority’s decision to close Park Holm polling place
The local board’s decision for November’s general election was overturned by a unanimous vote. The reversal follows several tense local meetings, where Newport residents argued the closure could impact voter turnout in the city’s North End.
Posted inArticle, Newport Bureau, Politics
Newport Canvassing Authority plan to move North End polling place raises voter access questions
Members of the Canvassing Board say the polling location at the Park Holm Senior Center poses COVID-related health risks, but some locals argue the move could impact voter turnout.
Posted inArticle, Newport Bureau, Politics
Newport Canvassing Authority votes to keep two polling locations closed for November election, citing COVID-related health risks
The decision follows some controversy around whether the removal of certain polling places stifled voter turnout in September’s primary.
Posted inArticle, Newport Bureau
Touro Synagogue leadership reflects on Justice Ginsburg’s legacy in Newport
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on Friday at the age of 87. She served more than 27 years on the court, and was the sixth Jewish justice ever confirmed. In 2004, Ginsburg visited Touro Synagogue in Newport and spoke about the history of the Jewish justices who preceded her.
Posted inArticle, Environment, Newport Bureau
Twelve bats quarantine in wildlife rehabilitator’s home as COVID-19 poses risk of ‘human-to-bat’ transmission
Rhode Island paused the release of rehabilitated bats earlier this year over concerns that the animals could become a vector for COVID-19. But it’s the bats that many experts are worried about, after another disease has already devastated their numbers in the Northeast.
Posted inArticle, Education
In person and online, Rhode Island students return to school
It was not the start of school that many had hoped for, nor was it a return to normalcy after the abrupt shutdown of schools this spring. Instead, most public schools in Rhode Island reopened– at least partially– in an atmosphere of wariness and uncertainty.
Posted inArticle, Politics
All active RI voters will receive mail ballot applications for November general election
According to Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, voters will begin receiving these paper applications as soon as Saturday.