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Important Dates
October 16: early voting and emergency mail ballot period begins.
November 4: early voting and emergency mail ballot period ends at 4 p.m.
November 5: Election Day; deadline to receive mail ballots is 8 p.m.
November 12: deadline to receive military and overseas ballots.
Early voting starts today, Oct. 16, 2024, and will continue until 4 p.m. on November 4. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
At the federal level Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo all have Republican challengers for their seats in congress.
At the state level, every seat in the General Assembly (38 in the Senate, 75 in the House) will be on the ballot.
There will also be five state-level ballot questions: four bonds and the once-every-decade referendum asking if the state should hold a constitutional convention.
Presidential candidates on the RI ballot:
Kamala Harris, Democrat
Donald Trump, Republican
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Team Kennedy (Kennedy has suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump, but remains on the ballot)
Robert Wells, Party Party
Chase Oliver, Libertarian Party
Jill Stein, Green Party
Claudia De La Cruz, Party for Socialism and Liberation
write-in (vote for a candidate of your choosing)
Federal congressional races
1st Congressional District U.S. House of Representatives (guide):
Incumbent Democrat Gabe Amo
vs.
Republican Allen Waters
Incumbent Democrat Seth Magaziner
vs.
Republican Steven J. Corvi
Incumbent Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse
vs.
Republican Patricia Morgan
Ballot Measures
The Rhode Island Legislature adds this question to the ballot in years ending in the number four to give voters a once-in-a-decade opportunity to consider revising or amending the state’s governing document. Voters have rejected the question to hold a constitutional convention in 1994, 2004 and in 2014. The last time a constitutional convention was held was in 1986.
A yes vote would authorize a bond allocating $160.5 million for two higher education facilities in the Ocean State: A newly built biomedical sciences building at University of Rhode Island (URI), and additional funding for the Institute of Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College (RIC), which opened in 2023.
Voting no would oppose the bonds from being issued, and prevent the spending.
This $120 million housing bond package would be the biggest in state history:
$80 million to subsidize the availability of low- and moderate- income affordable housing production. Up to $10 million of this funding could be directed toward building a new public housing program.
$10 million to help communities acquire properties and redevelop existing structures.
$20 million to help generate more low, moderate and middle-income housing designed for homeownership.
$5 million to subsidize the purchase of properties to be redeveloped into affordable housing.
$4 million toward physical infrastructure needed for affordable housing pre-development and development.
$1 million for municipalities to aid their plans for housing development. Upzoning, or changing zoning laws to accommodate new housing developments, is one example.
A yes vote would authorize a bond issue in support of six different housing initiatives, including construction, renovation, measures to increase available housing stock and assistance for municipal housing efforts.
Voting no would oppose the bonds from being issued, and prevent the spending.
If funded, the bond’s assorted projects would begin by or around 2026, and would see completion sometime between 2027 and 2030.
A yes vote on this $53 million bond package for the green economy would support nine environmental initiatives across the state. The priciest inclusion is $15 million for upgrading berthing space, port access roads, cargo areas and security measures for Quonset’s Port of Davisville in North Kingstown.
Voters have previously approved infrastructure improvements to Davisville: voters approved a $70 million bond package that included $50 million for Davisville in 2016, and the port got another $20 million via 59% of voters’ approval of a bond initiative in 2021. Critics question whether the port’s inclusion is a business initiative masquerading as an environmental one.
The Rhode Island Ports Coalition argues the success of Davisville is linked to the success of offshore wind: “The bottom line is that we cannot reach our clean energy goals without offshore wind, and we cannot provide the necessary support for offshore wind projects without infrastructure on land that is up to the task,” said Gavin Black, president of the Rhode Island Ports Coalition and of Moran Shipping, at a bond campaign event in September.
Voting no would oppose the bonds from being issued, and prevent the spending.
A yes vote would authorize $10 million in funding for facilities and preservation efforts, as well as a bonus for the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) in the form of support for its capital improvement grants. This bond includes $2 million earmarked for the Tomaquag Museum, the state’s only Indigenous museum, which is located in Exeter. The capital improvement funds would help Tomaquag settle into its new home on 18 acres of University of Rhode Island-owned lands in Kingston.
Voting no would oppose the bonds from being issued, and prevent the spending.
How to register to vote
In Rhode Island, you must be registered to vote 30 days before an election to participate. Eligible individuals can register online at vote.ri.gov or by visiting their local board of canvassers’ office.
The deadline to register or to update an existing registration in time to vote the full ballot on Nov. 5 was Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. If you miss the voter registration deadline, you can register to vote on Election Day, but you will only be able to vote for President and Vice President. You will not be able to vote in any state, local, or other federal races.
You can only register and vote on Election Day at the location designated by your local board of canvassers. To register to vote, you must be: a citizen of the United States; a resident of the Rhode Island city or town where you wish to vote; At least 16 years of age to register - but you must be at least 18 years of age to vote.)
Use the Rhode Island Voter Information Center polling place lookup tool to find out where you can cast your ballot.
Election Day voter ID advice
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Polling places typically open at 7 a.m. and close promptly at 8 p.m. You must be allowed to vote if you’re in line at closing time - this is the law.
You’ll need to show an acceptable form of identification to vote at the polls. You can show your Rhode Island driver’s license. The ID cannot have expired more than six months before the election. Other forms of ID are also accepted. If you do not bring an acceptable photo ID to the polling place, you will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot.
If you do not have a valid photo ID, you can arrange to have the Rhode Island Department of State issue you one. To apply for a RI Voter ID, call the RI Department of State's Election Division at 401.222.2340 or send an email to elections@sos.ri.gov to make an appointment.
This voter guide is largely derived from nonprofit newsroom Rhode Island Current's 2024 voter guide. RI Current's guide did not include mention of any of the third party presidential candidates on Rhode Island's ballot.
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