PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Rhode Island voters will help choose a new president, decide whether to expand the authority of the state’s ethics commission and determine whether to allow a new casino in Tiverton as they cast ballots at polls around the state.
Polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
At the top of the ballot, voters will decide between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton for president. Three other third-party presidential candidates are also on the Rhode Island ballot.
It’s the first presidential election in Rhode Island in which voters will have to show photo identification. Those without an approved form of ID will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot.
It has been 32 years since a Republican presidential candidate took the state. The last candidate to do so was Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Trump won April’s GOP primary in Rhode Island by a large margin, and Clinton lost by nearly 12 percentage points to Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Still, Clinton received significantly more votes than Trump did then.
Tuesday is also the first presidential election in Rhode Island without straight-ticket voting. Voters will have to select each candidate and will not be able to pick a party slate.
The number of registered Democrats in Rhode Island is three times the number of registered Republicans, though independents outnumber them both.
Every seat in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly is up for election. Many seats held by incumbents are contested, including the Cranston seat held by Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, who is running against GOP attorney Steven Frias. There are also open seats because of lawmakers who didn’t seek re-election or who lost September’s primaries.
Democratic U.S. Reps. David Cicilline and James Langevin are seeking re-election to Congress. Both face challengers.
Voters will also be asked, in Question 2, whether to amend the state constitution to give the ethics commission authority to investigate and sanction state lawmakers.
Question 1 asks voters whether to allow a new casino to be built in Tiverton, on the Massachusetts border. To be built, it must be approved statewide and by voters in Tiverton, who have an identical question on the town ballot.
Several bond issues ask for funding for infrastructure projects. Question 3 asks for $27 million to finish constructing a new state home for veterans. Question 4 asks for $45.5 million for higher education construction projects centered at the University of Rhode Island. Question 5 calls for $70 million to expand two cargo ports. Question 6 asks for $35 million for environment and recreation, including bikeways. Question 7 asks for $50 million to build affordable housing and revitalize urban areas.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
