Get Herald RSSFacing a competitive presidential primary, Rhode Islanders are expected to vote in record numbers today.
The record turnout could create problems as cities and towns across the state have closed more than 80 polling centers since the 2004 primary, when only 6.7 percent of registered voters cast ballots, according to a Feb. 27 article in the Providence Journal.
But a Providence election official says he does not expect there to be any problems.
"We're ready," said Laurence Flynn, executive secretary of the Providence Board of Canvassers. "At the last moment, we made the necessary steps to make it easier for the voter to not get jammed up in lines."
The original plans for the primary were laid out months in advance, Flynn said, and had to be revised at the last minute when it became clear that voter turnout would be higher than usual.
At each polling center in Providence, there will now be a monitor to help organize lines and direct voters to the correct polling sites, something the city has never done before, Flynn said. Additional set-up crews will also be used to ensure polls open on time, he said.
Still, the closed sites may create difficulties for voters.
"Now that people are going to turn out in record-high numbers, polling place confusion this Tuesday will be inevitable," Ariel Werner '09, a coordinator for Students for Barack Obama, wrote in an e-mail.
On Providence's East Side, three districts, including the one that represents Brown, have been merged together into a single site, Flynn said. The Salomon Center will be the polling site for the combined 2,501 registered voters from the three districts.
Voter turnout in the city of Providence could double from the 8,000 in the 2004 presidential primary election to close to 16,000 this year, but a rain forecast might reduce those numbers, Flynn said.
Flynn said he expects voter turnout in Brown's district to be especially high, though many students are registered to vote in their home states.
Rhode Island sends only 32 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, compared to a combined 389 delegates from Texas and Ohio, which, along with Vermont, will also be holding primaries today. But the Ocean State's influence outmatches its size, said Jennifer Lawless, assistant professor of political science.
If Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., wins both the Texas and Ohio primaries, she would probably stay in the race. But if she wins only one of those states, "winning Rhode Island will help her because she can say she won two of the four states," Lawless said.
Since Vermont voters are leaning more heavily towards Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Clinton has focused her efforts on a state she has a better chance of winning, Lawless said, adding that "the spin will be the total number of states."
Clinton leads Obama, 49 percent to 40 percent, among likely voters in the Rhode Island Democratic primary, according to a Fleming and Associates poll conducted from Feb. 24 to Feb. 27. Eleven percent said they were not sure whom they would vote for.
Independent voters are allowed to vote in the presidential primary of either party in Rhode Islan.That could be a large factor in a state where they make up the majority of the electorate. In other states' primaries, independent voters have been key supporters of Obama, Lawless said.
Though many are registered to vote in other states, Brown students make up a large component of campaign volunteers for both Obama's and Clinton's campaigns in the state.
"That activism translates into votes," Lawless said.
The polling station in the Salomon Center will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. today.
