Registration deadline for Senate District 4, Central Falls special elections is Sunday

Attention voters in Central Falls and Rhode Island’s Senate District 4: The deadline to register to vote or change your affiliation to participate in special city and legislative elections is days away.

Voters have until 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, to register or change party affiliation ahead of the July 8 Democratic Senate District 4 primary and a special city election in Central Falls. Forms can be completed online at vote.ri.gov, or by mailing or dropping off a paper form at your municipal board of canvassers office.

In Senate District 4, spanning North Providence and a small section of Providence, four Democrats have signaled their intent to run for the open seat left vacant after former Senate President Dominick Ruggerio died in April. There is also one Republican and one independent who have declared they are running, and will compete in an Aug. 5 general election.

Senate candidates must submit nomination forms with 100 valid signatures from voters by June 10 to have their name appear on the ballot.

Central Falls will hold special elections — without a primary —  on July 8 for an open seat on the City Council alongside a ballot question over changes to the structure of the city school board. One candidate, Anthony Solano, will appear on the ballot for the open City Council District 4 seat, having already submitted the required signatures by the May 7 deadline. 

Close behind the registration deadline is a second key date for primary voters: The deadline to apply for a mail ballot. Applications are already available online, due back no later than 4 p.m. June 17. Applications sent by mail must be postmarked by the Aug. 20 deadline. 

Another special election is slated for Aug. 5 in Coventry to decide two seats on the Coventry Town Council. Three candidates — Richard Houle, Kathy Farwell and Robert Delellis — have declared their intent to run in the nonpartisan race, for which there is no primary. Coventry voters have until Sunday, July 6, to register to vote.

More information on upcoming election dates and deadlines for voters and candidates is available on the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s website.