Early in-person voting breaks Rhode Island record

More Rhode Islanders than ever before are casting ballots early at designated in-person polling sites open before the Sept. 9 primary, according to the Rhode Island Department of State’s online turnout tracker.

The 32,575 early, in-person ballots cast as of noon Tuesday — with four hours to go — is nearly double the 16,900 early, in-person ballots cast in 2022, and even more than the 12,100 early ballots cast ahead of the 2024 primary.

In 2020, the first year the state offered early, in-person voting as part of pandemic-era protocols that later became cemented into state law, just over 7,000 voters cast ballots early and in person.

The surge in early voting comes amid several high-profile and contentious primaries, including the marquee matchup between Gov. Dan McKee and his Democratic primary challenger, Helena Buonanno Foulkes. In the capital city, Democratic mayoral challenger Rep. David Morales has proven a formidable contender for Mayor Brett Smiley. There are also contested and crowded Democratic primaries for lieutenant governor and attorney general, alongside rare Republican primaries for governor and in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District.

Local political observers suggest the surge in early voting could mean higher primary turnout overall. Or, it could be a shift in how ballots are cast, as voters become more aware and comfortable with newer options.

Early voting is riding a wave in Rhode Island. Will primary day turnout follow?

Candidates, too, have embraced early voting, including Democratic challengers for lieutenant governor Xay Khamsyvoravong, Cindy Coyne, Sue AnderBois, and Ross McCurdy, according to their campaigns. Rep. Jason Knight, one of four Democratic candidates for the open attorney general seat, also voted early.

In 2024, turnout failed to crack 10% in the state’s primaries. Two years earlier, in 2022, 16.9% of voters participated in the September primaries.  

As of Tuesday at noon, 5.6% of registered voters had cast ballots in the 2026 primary, including those who submitted their ballots by mail.

While in-person early voting has surged this election cycle, mail ballots are less popular than four years ago just as a Trump administration attack on mail ballots in the Nov. 3 midterms reaches the nation’s highest court.

The Trump administration on Sunday appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after a federal judge blocked Trump’s executive order seeking to limit mail voting in the Nov. 3 midterms.

Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore, who is also running for reelection, has sought to reassure voters on the integrity of mail ballots in the primary, which is not affected by Trump’s executive order. 

“Voting by mail is a safe, secure, and convenient option for millions of voters each election.” Amore said in a statement. “The Administration is intent on inventing reasons to sow doubt around mail ballots — even as the President takes advantage of mail voting himself.”

The Rhode Island Board of Elections has received 11,425 mail ballots as of noon Tuesday, out of 15,726 ballots approved and sent to voters to complete (although voters can still ask for an emergency mail ballot from their local board of canvassers through 4 p.m. Tuesday.) If every voter who requested and received a mail ballot returns it by Wednesday’s 8 p.m. deadline, total mail ballots would fall shy of the 17,300 mail ballots cast in the 2022 primaries. In 2020, during the pandemic, nearly 38,800 primary ballots were cast by mail.

Providence remains the frontrunner in early voting, with more than 7,600 ballots cast early, in-person or by mail, followed by Warwick and Cranston.

Fridays between 10 a.m. and noon was the most popular time for voters to cast ballots at designated municipal polling places. Weekends were the least well-attended, likely because only a few cities and towns offered early voting hours on select weekends.

Early voting continues through 4 p.m. today.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, except for in New Shoreham, where polls open at 9 a.m. Mail ballots must be received by the Rhode Island Board of Elections by 8 p.m. Wednesday, with options to return them in-person at a polling place, or secure elections drop box. 

This story will be updated.