voting

Block Says Master Lever Critics Will Raise Focus on Fox, Paiva Weed

Ian Donnis — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 23:42:16 +0000

The leader of efforts to kill straight-ticket voting, Moderate Party founder Ken Block, says opponents of the master lever plan to raise their focus on winning support from House Speaker Gordon Fox and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed.

“It’s up to the speaker and the Senate president to bring those bills up for a vote in committee to get them to the floor, and now the public pressure begins to mount on both of those offices to do that," Block says. "We’ll be pushing on that very hard over the next month, month and a half.”

Sunday Voter Registration Deadline for Central Falls Special Election

Jehane Samaha — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:55:00 +0000

Since James Diossa’s swearing in as Mayor of Central Falls, his former seat on the City Council has sat empty. Steven Corrales is running unopposed for this seat in a special election this March 26^th. As Rhode Island Public Radio’s Jehane Samaha reports, time is running out for Central Falls voters to register.

Straight party voting not a simple issue in RI

Scott MacKay — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:16:08 +0000

Just about every good government group in Rhode Island is pushing for an end to the so-called master lever option on state ballots. RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay explains why this is not a panacea for what ails our state’s political culture.

It has become an article of faith in Rhode Island among the self-styled government reform groups, most statewide elected politicians and the chattering pundit classes that our state needs to get rid of that relic of urban machine politics, the master lever.

Block attracting support for killing the master lever

Ian Donnis — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:00:09 +0000

(PROVIDENCE, RI) Moderate Party founder Ken Block is leading a new effort to eliminate straight-ticket voting in Rhode Island. Critics say the so-called master lever makes it more difficult to challenge the ruling Democratic Party.

Block has created a Web site, masterlever.org, with an online petition calling for eliminating the master lever. He says straight-ticket voting has a distorting effect on politics in Rhode Island.

Eight polling places set for December 11 mayoral election in Central Falls

Ian Donnis — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Pointing to some well-publicized snafus during last week’s election, Central Falls mayoral candidate James Diossa is encouraging the state Board of Elections to go with the current eight polling places in the December 11 mayoral election, rather than cutting the number to two.

Diossa, in a news release, says the CF Board of Canvassers has proposed cutting the number of polling places:

Tweeting your completed ballot is illegal in Rhode Island

Ian Donnis — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Given the ubiquity of smart phones, it’s no surprise that a lot of people sent out images of their completed ballots today via Twitter.

Why David Cicilline rolled up a larger than expected victory

Ian Donnis — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Congressman David Cicilline enjoyed a larger-than-expected victory over Republican challenger Brendan Doherty yesterday by improving his performance from 2010 in seven communities.

Cicilline won the race by slightly more than 12 points (53.1 percent vs 40.7 percent).

The results are surprising since Doherty learned some of the lessons from John Loughlin’s losing 2010 campaign, particularly the need to aggressively raise money, and because Cicilline has been buffeted by a large measure of unflattering local headlines since he landed in Congress.

More than a quarter of voters in the Goldin-Butke race didn’t vote for Speaker Gordon Fox

Ian Donnis — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 08:00:00 +0000

More than one-quarter of voters taking part in the September 11 state Senate Democratic primary election between Gayle Goldin and Maryellen Butke skipped the chance to vote for House Speaker Gordon Fox, according to an RIPR analysis.

RI Supreme Court denies Tobon’s case in challenge to San Bento

Ian Donnis — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:00:00 +0000

On a 3-2 decision, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has denied Carlos Tobon’s call for a manual recount following his controversial and contested one-vote loss to state Representative William San Bento of Pawtucket.

Tonight at RISD – Lausen on the importance of ballot design

Ian Donnis — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:48:57 +0000

The s0-called “Butterfly ballot” during the 2000 presidential election stands as the classic high-stakes example of voters being confused by a less-than-clear ballot. Marcia Lausen – speaking at 8 tonight at the RISD Auditorium — was involved in the aftermath: