Election 2023
So many debates before CD1 primary, now just one scheduled
Republican congressional candidate Gerry Leonard is renewing a call challenging Gabe Amo to multiple debates amid reports his Democratic opponent declined at least three invitations from other organizers. After winning the Sept. 5 primary, Leonard had requested 12 debates over eight weeks, but as of Friday afternoon, the Amo campaign had only confirmed a single […]
BOE director to retire in 2024
The administrative head of the state elections board is retiring next year. Chris Hunter, spokesperson for the Rhode Island Board of Elections (BOE), confirmed in an interview Thursday that Robert Rapoza, the agency’s executive director, will retire in 2024. The story was first reported by The Boston Globe’s Rhode Island bureau. Details of Rapoza’s retirement, […]
Documentary on election workers’ role in our democracy to screen Sept. 28 at RIC
Spoiler alert: The last scene of the documentary film “No Time to Fail” features Cranston Director of Elections Nick Lima renewing his oath to continue serving the city. Lima took the oath on Jan. 3, 2021. “The whole audience understands what’s to come,” Providence filmmaker Sarah Archambault said of the Capitol riots of Jan 6, […]
Forget waiting in line to vote. Early voting, mail ballots on rise in R.I.
Five years ago, 95% of Rhode Islanders who voted in statewide primaries cast their ballots in-person on a single, designated primary day. These days, not so much. Nearly a third of the voters who participated in the Sept. 5. special congressional primaries cast ballots by mail or early, in-person voting, rather on the day of […]
This state rep went from sleeper CD1 candidate to cracking the top 5. What’s next?
Rep. Stephen Casey almost didn’t make the cut for an August debate at Roger Williams University featuring Democratic congressional candidates. But three weeks later, Casey bested seven other candidates in the Sept. 5 Democratic primary, despite spending less than most of them on his campaign. He amassed 5.8% of the votes cast – one of […]
BOE certifies CD1 primary results, with 44,000 votes cast
Gabe Amo has officially been crowned the victor of an 11-way Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District seat with 12,964 votes, or 32.4% of ballots cast, according to final election results certified by the Rhode Island Board of Elections (BOE) on Tuesday. The primary was held on Sept. 5, but election workers continued to […]
R.I. election panel opts not to delve back into Matos signature papers. For now.
That was fast. After monthslong discussion of signature fraud on Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos’ congressional campaign nomination papers, a state elections panel put the controversy to bed in minutes. For now, at least. The Rhode Island Board of Elections (BOE) did not officially close the book on the signature scandal, taking no action after two […]
Republican Michigan Congressman Jack Bergman endorses Gerry Leonard
NORTH PROVIDENCE — When Gerry Leonard was thinking about running as a Republican for Rhode Island’s open 1st Congressional District seat last May, he knew just the person to reach out to for advice: his former boss. That conversation with U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) convinced the retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel from Jamestown to […]
Ranked-choice voting may not have changed Tuesday’s primary. That’s the point, backers say.
Calls for voting reform grew to a roar in the days heading into Rhode Island’s competitive and crowded Democratic congressional primary. Now on the other side of the Sept. 5 election, the battle cry for ranked choice voting remains strong. But not because it would have changed the winner. In fact, proponents of the alternative […]
Five takeaways from Gabe Amo’s Democratic primary victory
When Gabe Amo announced his candidacy in April for the 1st Congressional District special election, he was a relatively unknown name to Rhode Island voters. Now, he’s on track to probably make history as the state’s first congressional representative of color after beating 10 other Democrats in Tuesday’s primary. While some might consider Amo’s victory […]
Primary night belongs to Gabe Amo in 1st Congressional District race
Growing up in a working-class household in Pawtucket, Gabe Amo always dreamed he’d become a big name in Rhode Island — at least that’s what his father, Gabe Sr. says. “That’s what he’s wanted for 35 years,” he said. Now, Amo’s dreams are coming true after defeating 10 other Democrats Tuesday in the race to […]
Amo could become Rhode Island’s first person of color in Congress. What does that mean?
Rhode Island may be on the verge of history following the decisive victory of Gabe Amo in Tuesday’s 11-way Democratic race for the open 1st Congressional District seat. The former White House aide who entered the race as a relative unknown is the child of a Ghanaian immigrant father and Liberian immigrant mother. But now […]