R.I. Senate 4 special primary saw 11% turnout, half of ballots cast early or by mail

Despite a heat advisory and threats of flash flooding on the day of the July 8 primary, more than 11% of Rhode Island’s Senate District 4 voters cast ballots in the four-way Democratic contest to fill the open state legislative seat, according to final results certified by the state Board of Elections Tuesday.

The elections panel’s unanimous vote confirms the preliminary outcome of the special Democratic primary, which saw North Providence Town Councilor Stefano Famiglietti triumph over his three opponents with a decisive 68% percent of the vote — more than 52 percentage points ahead of second-place finisher, Marcia Ranglin-Vassell. 

Considered the frontrunner in the primary, Famiglietti served on the North Providence Town Council since 2018, receiving endorsements from the Senate District 4 Democratic Committee, the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone. He will now face the sole Republican candidate, Alexander Asermely, in an Aug. 5 general election.

Asermely, 39, a lawyer, is a first-time candidate for elected office and is backed by the Rhode Island Republican Party. 

The special election fills the seat left open by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, who died in April. Whoever wins the upcoming Aug. 5 general election will serve the rest of Ruggerio’s two-year term, through 2026, with a $19,817 annual salary.

There are 22,214 registered voters in the district, which spans North Providence and a section of northern Providence. A majority of them, roughly 10,000, are registered Democrats, while another 9,700 are unaffiliated, with the remainder registered as Republicans, according to data from the Rhode Island Department of State. Registered Republicans had to disaffiliate in order to vote in the July 8 Democratic primary under state election rules.

Just over half of the 2,445 voters who participated in the primary cast ballots on primary day at one of four designated polling places. The other half were divided equally between early voting at city or town hall, and mail ballots.

Ranglin-Vassell, a former state representative and Providence Public Schools teacher, received more than 15% of the vote overall, but more than half of the support from voters at the sole Providence polling place.  Famiglietti, 33, a lawyer,  led in all three North Providence polling places with 60-80% of the votes, according to official election results.

Lenny Cioe, 66, a nurse, finished third with 11.5% of votes. Manny Taveras, 40, brother of former Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, received less than 5% of votes. 

Early voting for the special general election starts Wednesday and runs through Monday, Aug. 4, with weekday hours for district voters at Providence City Hall and North Providence Town Hall. More information is available on the Rhode Island Department of State website. 

Board of Elections Chairperson Jennie Johnson and members Randall Jackvony and Michael Connors were absent from the meeting Tuesday.