Organizations across Rhode Island are working to ensure all eligible voters have equal access to the ballot box.
In the run up to the election on Nov. 5, organizations in Rhode Island and at Brown are working to increase voting participation and accessibility, hoping to build on high turnout in 2020, which had the highest voter turnout in the state since 2008. This year also marks the first presidential election since the passing of the 2022 Let Rhode Island Vote Act, which increases access to mail-in ballots.
“We've seen a liberalization of access to the ballot in Rhode Island,” John Marion, Executive Director of Common Cause Rhode Island told The Herald.
Common Cause RI has been running the Election Protection Program, which sends non-partisan volunteers to polling stations to make sure all polling places are accessible to voters. This includes looking for language and physical accessibility for voters with disabilities and providing information to voters.
But concerns remain about voting access in the weeks leading up to the general election.
During the Rhode Island primary elections on Sept. 10, Common Cause RI documented multiple instances where there was insufficient signage in Spanish, a violation of the Voting Rights Act.
The Voting Rights Act states that if greater than 5% of a subdivision speaks a language other than English, all signage must be provided in that language. In Pawtucket, 22.4% of voting age citizens are Hispanic/Latino.
In a May lawsuit, Pawtucket was sued by the Department of Justice for failing to provide adequate signs. The City then entered a Consent Order with the DOJ to provide the correct signage for all local, state and federal elections.
“We sent a letter to Pawtucket and some other officials … with the aim of making sure things go well in November”, Marion said. “In the lead up to Nov. 5, we'll be monitoring Pawtucket’s efforts to make improvements, and we’ll have volunteers out again…to make sure that language access is being provided.”
At Brown, organizations like Brown Votes and Every Vote Counts have been working to encourage voters across campus to cast their ballots.
“We’re doing a lot of work to register students, including partnering with residential life to have training with community coordinators and Bruno leaders,” said John Bellaire ’25, a member of Brown Votes.
The group has also been working with local high schoolers, setting up campaigns across campus to inform voters. Everton E. Prospere ’27, President of Every Vote Counts at Brown Told the Herald “if you don't vote, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Because no matter what, government is going to affect you, politics is going to affect you”.
Brown Votes and Every Vote Counts both referenced the 30 days voter registration deadline which commonly restricts college students. In Rhode Island, for every election other than Presidential Elections, voters must register to vote 30 days prior to the election.
“That's a huge barrier, especially to college students who are trying to … cast their votes in Rhode Island, who might move here as a freshman and only have a matter of weeks before you're registered to vote,” Bellaire told The Herald.
Both groups also referenced how another reason many students don’t vote is they either forget or aren't sure how to request mail-in ballots. To combat this, Brown Votes has set up Civic Engagement Kits across campus placed in Page Robinson, the Sciences Library, The John D. Rockefeller Jr Library and the Sharpe Refectory.
“It has paper registration forms for six or seven states that require it, as well as paper mail in ballot request forms,” Josie Alston ’25, a Civic Engagement Fellow for Brown Votes told the Herald.
