R.I. Board of Elections says it's ready for Election Day

Prepared to count all ballots, certify final results

Posted 10/29/20

CRANSTON — The Rhode Island Board of Elections is assuring Rhode Island voters and candidates that the state’s voting and election systems are fully prepared for Election Day on Tuesday, …

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R.I. Board of Elections says it's ready for Election Day

Prepared to count all ballots, certify final results

Posted

CRANSTON — The Rhode Island Board of Elections is assuring Rhode Island voters and candidates that the state’s voting and election systems are fully prepared for Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3,  and prepared to efficiently process and count all ballots (in-person, mail, emergency, provisional) and certify final results.

 

“With an ongoing pandemic and the huge increase in mail and emergency ballots we’ve seen as a result, this is going to be an unprecedented Election Day, but one that the Rhode Island Board of Elections is fully prepared for,” said Robert Rapoza, Executive Director. “We’ve been working closely with our partners in the Secretary of State’s Office and the General Assembly for months to ensure every eligible Rhode Island voter has convenient, safe, and secure options to cast their ballot.”

 

“We’re pleased to see that so many Rhode Islanders have already cast their ballot by mail or by emergency voting at their city or town hall. Indeed, to date, the Board of Elections has processed over 175,000 mail ballots and 100,000 emergency ballots,” continued Rapoza. “Voters can check the status of their mail ballot using our Mail Ballot Status Lookup tool available on our website (elections.ri.gov). Voters who have received mail ballots also have the option to drop their completed ballot off at any of the 41 secure drop boxes at city and town halls across the state.”

 

“For Rhode Islanders planning to vote in-person on November 3rd, the Board of Elections, working with our 39 city and town Board of Canvasser clerk partners, will have 406 voting locations available and 461 voting machines deployed across the state,” continued Rapoza. “We’ve worked hard to train Election Day poll workers, and to provide all polling locations with Personal Protective Equipment including hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, social distancing placards, and floor markers. Rhode Islanders looking to find their polling location, view sample ballots, or with questions about how to vote should visit the Secretary of State’s Voter Information Center (vote.sos.ri.gov) or the Board of Elections' website (elections.ri.gov). Voters can also call 2-1-1 with voting and election related questions.”

 

“Finally, once all ballots have been cast by the November 3rd at 8:00 PM deadline, the Board of Elections is ready to efficiently process and count vote totals and report results to the public as quickly as possible,” continued Rapoza. “We have more than 50 staff working with us on election night and election week to process and count all ballots – in-person, mail, emergency, provisional – report out results via our website, and ultimately certify final results.”

 

Election Facts and Resources

 

  • 41 secure drop boxes deployed across the state. Voters can drop off completed mail ballots at ANY of these locations, regardless of which town they are registered to vote in. Full list of drop box locations is available here: https://elections.ri.gov/elections/dropboxes/index.php

 

 

  • 406 Rhode Island in-person polling locations. Voters can find their polling location by visiting the Secretary of State’s Voter Information Center (vote.sos.ri.gov), the Board of Elections' website (elections.ri.gov), or by calling 2-1-1.

 

  • 461 voting machines deployed statewide.

 

  • More than 175,000 mail ballots processed to date

 

  • More than 100,000 emergency ballots processed to date.

 

  • The Board of Elections has security provided 24 hours per day at election headquarters. On Election Day, 2 Rhode Island State Police officers will be located in election headquarters throughout the day.

 

  • In partnership with VotingWorks, the Rhode Island Board of Elections will conduct a Risk-Limiting Audit of results to ensure accuracy and safeguard against hacked or otherwise faulty voting systems. Rhode Island is one of only 5 states conducting a Risk-Limiting Audit, considered the “gold standard” of post-election auditing.

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