Upcoming Elections
2010 Primary Election: 09/14/10
2010 General Election: 11/2/10
Several municipal and special elections are scheduled to take place in 2009. Click here for the list of 2009 election dates.
Polling Place Hours:
Contact your local Board of Elections for opening times in your community. Polls statewide close at 9:00 p.m. on Election Day. Anyone in line to vote at closing time is allowed to vote.
Voter Registration Information
Click here for a Rhode Island Voter Registration Guide created by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and its pro bono law firm partners.
Registration Deadlines
In order to vote in an election, you must register 30 days before Election Day.
Identification Required for Registration
If you are a first time mail registrant in RI or a first time registrant through a third party, you must provide your valid RI driver's license number or valid RI ID number issued by the RI Division of Motor Vehicles. If you do not have a valid RI driver's license or RI ID number, you must provide the last four digits of your social security number. If you do not present a driver's license, RI ID or social security number, or if these numbers cannot be verified, you will be required to present one of the following forms of identification at the time of registration, prior to voting or at the time of voting:
- A copy of a current and valid photo identification provided by a third party in the ordinary course of business that includes the name and photograph of the individual presenting it. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Driver's license or identification card of any state;
- U.S. Passport;
- Employee identification card;
- Identification card provided by a commercial establishment;
- Credit or debit card;
- Military identification card;
- Student identification card;
- Health club identification card;
- Insurance plan identification card;
- Public housing identification card;
- Or a copy of any of the following documents, provided that the document includes the name and current address of the individual presenting it, and is dated since the date of the last general election, unless the document is intended to be of a permanent nature such as a pardon or discharge:
- Utility bill;
- Bank statement;
- Government check;
- Government paycheck;
- Voter notification card issued by a governmental agency;
- Student identification card issued by a governmental agency;
- Tuition statement or bill issued by a governmental agency;
- Identification documents issued by governmental disability agencies;
- Property tax statement issued by a governmental agency;
- Vehicle registration issued by a governmental agency;
- Vehicle certificate of ownership issued by a governmental agency.
How to Check Registration
Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Visit the Rhode Island Secretary of State's Voter Information Center
Contact your local Board of Elections
Voting Information
Identification Required to Vote
If you are a first time voter in Rhode Island who registered by mail and you did not provide proper documentation of identification when you registered to vote, you will need to show proper documentation of identification (see above) when you go vote.
How to Find Your Polling Place
Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Visit the Rhode Island Secretary of State's Voter Information Center
Contact your local Board of Elections
Absentee Voting
Click here to visit GoVoteAbsentee.org, a resource for absentee voters.
If you are a registered voter, you may vote by mail (absentee voting) only if:
- You will be absent from the state on Election Day during the entire time the polls are open
- You will be absent from the city or town of your voting residence during the entire time the polls are open because you are a student or spouse of a student at an institution of higher learning within the state
- It would be an undue hardship for you to vote at the polls because you are incapacitated due to illness or mental or physical disability, blindness or serious impairment of mobility
- You are forbidden by the tenets of your religious faith from voting on Election Day
- You are confined to a hospital, rest home, convalescent home, nursing home or similar institution, public or private
- You are being detained while awaiting trial or imprisoned for any cause other than final conviction of a felony
- You will be temporarily absent from the state because of employment or service connected with military operations or are a spouse or dependent of such a person
- You are employed by the state board of elections or the local board of canvassers or a poll worker assigned to work on Election Day outside of your voting district.
Rules and Deadlines:
To apply for a mail ballot, you must first obtain an application for a mail ballot from your local board of canvassers. You may pick up an application yourself, have another person pick one up for you or call your local board and request that an application be sent to you. Click here to download an application.
The application must be filled out, witnessed or notarized and delivered to the local board so that it is received no later than 4:00 pm on the 21st day before the election.
If circumstances arise within 20 days of the election, which prevent you from going to the polls to vote on Election Day, you may be eligible to vote an emergency mail ballot. Emergency mail ballots are not available on Election Day. If you become ill after 4:00 pm the day before an election, you will be unable to vote.
Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.
Early Voting
Early voting is not permitted in Rhode Island.
Information For People who have Moved or Changed Addresses
If you have moved to a residence address in the same voting district as your previous residence and have not notified the local board of your change of address thirty (30) days or more prior to the election, you can vote at the polling place designated for the voting district or at the local board. You will be required to complete a written affirmation of your change of address.
If you have moved within the same city but to a different voting district and have not notified the local board of the change of address thirty (30) days or more prior to the election, you can vote at the polling place of your new residence address or at the local board. You will be required to complete a written affirmation of your change of address.
If you moved less than thirty (30) days before an election from one address to another address within the same city or town but in a different voting district, you must vote at the polling place of the former address or at the local board. You will be required to complete a written affirmation of your change of address.
If you moved to a different city or town and have not notified the local board of the change of address thirty (30) days or more prior to the election, you must vote by special paper ballot to be provided by the secretary of state upon application for it approved by the board of canvassers of the your former city or town.
Information for People with Felony Convictions
If you have been convicted of a felony and are currently serving your sentence, you are not eligible to register to vote or to vote. Once you have served your sentence, you may register and vote even if you are on probation.
For more information, go to Rhode Island's Board of Elections website.
