VOTE IN RHODE ISLAND

for 2024 General Election

Tuesday, November 5th

VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE:

Sunday, October 6th (online, mail)

Tuesday, November 5th (in-person)

HOW DO YOU PLAN TO REGISTER TO VOTE?

• VOTER REGISTRATION: ONLINE

  All voters wishing to vote in 2024 General Election must be registered to vote by Sunday, October 6th. Click here to register to vote online.

• VOTER REGISTRATION: BY MAIL

  All voters wishing to vote in 2024 General Election by mail must be registered to vote by Sunday, October 6th. You can download and print the voter registration application, and send it to your local election officials.

• VOTER REGISTRATION: IN PERSON

  All voters wishing to vote in 2024 General Election must be registered to vote by Tuesday, November 5th by visiting your local Board of Canvassers.

  If you or a member of your household has a court-ordered restraining order against another person to prevent domestic violence, you may register to vote without making your residence address part of a public record. You can learn more by visiting the Rhode Island election website under “Address Confidentiality Program” or by contacting the Department of State’s Elections Division at 401-222-2340.

  Limited same-day in-person registration is available in Rhode Island. In Rhode Island, voters who missed the voter registration deadline may vote on Election Day for the offices of President and Vice President only. This is done at the office of the Board of Canvassers, not at the polling place.

HOW DO YOU PLAN TO VOTE?

• VOTE IN PERSON

  Polling place hours: 7 am – 8 pm

  All voters are required to present valid photo identification prior to voting at the polls in all elections. Acceptable IDs are RI Driver’s License or Permit, RI Voter ID Card, U.S. Passport, ID issued by a U.S. educational institution, U.S. military ID, ID card issued by the United States or the State of Rhode Island and a Government issued medical card or Tribal ID. 

• VOTE EARLY (IN PERSON)

  In-person absentee is available in Rhode Island. Registered voters can vote early by going to your local board of canvassers located in your city/town hall. Prepare your valid photo ID. You can read more about early voting here.

  In-person absentee will take place from October 16th to November 4th, 2024 during regular business hours.

• VOTE BY MAIL

  All registered voters in Rhode Island can request an absentee ballot for the general election this year. You may find more information on the mail-in ballot at this link. You may request the absentee ballot by 4 pm on October 15th.

  • Place completed mail ballot certificate envelope into the postage-paid return envelope addressed to the: Rhode Island Board of Elections, P.O. Box 6128, Providence, RI 02940 or;
  • Hand deliver the sealed envelope to the Board of Elections at 2000 Plainfield Pike Cranston, RI 02921 by 8 pm on November 5th.

  You can also find an election drop box near you by visiting the State Board of Elections website. If you need to change any information on your voter registration, you may do so at this link by October 6th.

MORE INFORMATION FOR RHODE ISLAND VOTERS

• Positions on the Ballot: 2024 General Election

  U.S. PRESIDENT
  A U.S. President serves a term of 4 years. Below are the candidates to be voted in the 2024 Presidential Election. Incumbents are denoted with an asterisk (*).
  ▹ Kamala Harris & Tim Walz (D) vs Donald Trump & J. D. Vance (R)

  U.S. SENATE
  A U.S. Senator serves a term of 6 years. One of the two U.S. Senate positions in Rhode Island are open. Below are the candidates for the 2024 General Election. Incumbents are denoted with an asterisk (*). 
  ▹ Sheldon Whitehouse* (D) vs. Patricia Morgan (R) vs. Armando Anzoli (I)

  U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  A U.S. House member serves a term of 2 years. Both positions in the congressional districts of Rhode Island are on the ballot. Find your congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives website. Below are the candidates to be voted in the 2024 General Election for the select district. Incumbents are denoted with an asterisk (*).
  ▹ 1st District: Gabe Amo* (D) vs. Allen Waters (R)
  ▹ 2nd District: Seth Magaziner* (D) vs. Steven Corvi (R)

  RHODE ISLAND STATE SENATE
  All positions in the 38 Senate assembly seats of Rhode Island are on the ballot. Find your legislative district on the Rhode Island General Assembly website. 

  RHODE ISLAND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  All positions in the 75 House assembly seats of Rhode Island are on the ballot. Find your legislative district on the Rhode Island General Assembly website.

  STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURES
  ▹ Bond Issue 1: Issue $10 million in bonds for funding for 1:1 matching grants to continue the Cultural Arts and Economy Grant program administered by the Rhode Island state council on the arts, and for improvements and renovations to the Tomaquag Museum, the Newport Contemporary Ballet, and the Trinity Repertory Company
  ▹ Bond Issue 2: Issue $53 million in bonds for environmental-related infrastructure, local recreation projects, and for preservation of land
  ▹ Bond Issue 3: Issue $160.5 million in bonds for improvements to higher education facilities, with $87.5 million going to the construction of a University of Rhode Island Biomedical Sciences building, and $73 million going to renovations and improvements to the Rhode Island College Institute of Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies.
  ▹ Bond Issue 4: Issue $120 million in bonds to increase the availability of housing in the state
  ▹ Constitutional Convention: Call for a state constitutional convention to be held

  A complete list of all positions, candidates, and ballot measures can be found on the Rhode Island Board of Elections website. Information on all positions and candidates for local elections will be provided by each county’s election office.

• Pre-Registration

  16- or 17-year-old Rhode Island residents may re-register to vote, but can only vote when they turn 18 as long as they meet the voter requirements of the state.

• Provisional Ballot

  A provisional ballot is a regular ballot that is placed in a special envelope prior to being put in the ballot box. It is available for the voters whose identification is not verified at a polling place. A provisional ballot may be offered to those who believe they are registered to vote even though their names are not on the official voter registration list at the polling place and those who applied to vote by mail but would like to cast a vote in person.

  Every voter who casts a provisional ballot has the right to find out from their local election official if the ballot was counted and, if not, the reason why it was not counted. Visit this page to check the status of your provisional ballot.

• College Students & Voters Overseas

  Students from Rhode Island living away from home while attending a college, trade school, or technical school may choose to vote in absentee ballot.

  If you are a student living temporarily outside the United States, you can register to vote and apply to vote by mail using the Federal Post Card Application (Absentee Ballot) that is used by all other Rhode Island voters who are living abroad.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN RHODE ISLAND?

  You must be a United States citizen and at least 16 years of age (you will only be able to vote if you turn 18 by the day of the general election). You must be a resident of the Rhode Island city or town where you wish to vote. You must not be a convicted felon still in prison (once out of prison, you can restore your right to vote by either notifying your local board of canvassers in writing or by submitting a new voter registration form). You must not be legally judged mentally incompetent by a court of law.

• How often do I need to register to vote?

  You are required to register to vote only once. However, if information like your name or address changes, you need to fill out the voter registration form again to keep your voter information up to date. Check your voter registration information at this link.

• Which party should I be affiliated with?

  KAGC does not endorse any party or candidate; as such KAGC does not guide anyone to vote for, or be affiliated with, any specific party. In most parts of the United States, the Republican Party and Democratic Party are two major political parties. Throughout U.S. history, 19 presidents have been Republican (including Presidents Lincoln, Reagan, Bush, and Trump) and 14 have been Democrats (including Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clinton, and Obama) You may find more information on their respective websites.

  When registering to vote, it is not mandatory for a voter to declare party affiliation. However, in some states including Rhode Island, voters with party affiliation may vote only in the primary election of the party they are affiliated with. Unaffiliated voters, on the other hand, may vote for any candidate of their choice for each position on the ballot in both the primary and general elections.

• Am I limited to vote for the party I'm affiliated with?

  In the primary election in Rhode Island, voters with a party affiliation are only allowed to vote for their party’s nominees. Unaffiliated voters, on the other hand, may vote for any candidate of their choice for each position on the ballot in the primary elections. In the general election, however, all voters are free to vote for any candidate of their choice for each position on the ballot.

• What is this year's election about?

  On top of the ballot across the U.S. this year will be the candidates for U.S. President. In Rhode Island, there are also candidates for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Rhode Island State Senate, and Rhode Island State House of Representatives. For more information, please see the section above on this page.

• What is my district? Who is running in my district?

  To find your congressional district, visit the U.S. House of Representatives website and enter your zip code in the search bar on the top right-hand corner of the main page. For information on your Rhode Island legislative district, please visit the Rhode Island General Assembly website.

• Must I vote for each position on the ballot?

  Voters are not required to vote for every single position listed on the ballot. You may skip any position you do not support any candidate for, and you may also write-in a candidate of your choice not listed on the ballot. In the general election, voters may also vote for any candidate of preference regardless of party affiliations.

• What happens if I move?

  Every time there is a change in your address, whether in-state or out of state, you must update the information by filling out a voter registration form. Government agencies often mail election-related information to your address on file, which sometimes requires a prompt response. When a response is missing for a certain period of time, your voter registration may be considered inactive and is subject to elimination.

• I registered to vote a long time ago. What should I do now?

  Please visit this website to check your voter registration status, as well as the information on your voter registration. If your status is inactive, your information does not appear, or any of your information is inaccurate, please fill out the voter registration form and submit it by the deadline.

• Does voting lead to a mandatory jury duty?

  No. Voter registration and jury duty have no correlation with each other. Jury duty selection is made based on a different database than the voter roll.