Sealed with a Kiss

Rhode Island the rest of the nation tried something new this autumn: A concentrated effort to use mail ballots and early voting to keep crowds down at polling places on election day. According to the US Elections Project, a website run by early voting expert and academic Michael McDonald, as of October 23, 52 million Americans voted early, 36 million of whom voted by mail. Compare that to the total of 138 million Americans who voted in the 2016 election.

The Ocean State has seen its own wave of people voting early and through the mail. Lines at Providence City Hall have had wait times as long as 40 minutes on some days. As we went to press, 61,402 Rhode Islanders had voted early in person, and The Board of Elections has scanned in around 84,889 mail ballots. But these reported numbers may not be accurate. The Board of Elections reports backlogs are common, and according to reporting from WPRI, they’re receiving at least 20,000 to 25,000 new mail-in ballots every day. After it’s received, a ballot has to go through two more steps, including a signature verification. While Board of Elections staff are working around the clock to scan them, they’re anticipating a huge influx from voters who wait mail them in until closer to election day.

Rhode Islanders can vote early through November 2. If you still haven’t sent your ballot in, get moving because state officials recommend allowing at least three days for the post office to deliver it. Voters also have the option of delivering their ballot to the Board of Elections office in Cranston directly or putting it in a drop box located at town halls across the state.