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.