Election Day – what we’re watching…

Who will be our 46th President of the United States?

The states that are shadowed on the map, above, will most likely be the deciding states. Due to the electoral college, votes are distributed somewhat fairly across the US, with the winner getting at least half plus one — or 270 electoral votes.

This hybrid system means that more weight is given to a single vote in a small state than the vote of someone in a large state, leading to outcomes at times that have been at odds with the popular vote.

94/95 million people have already voted. Many totals will be known right away, but unaffiliated, etc. could take days to compute with the Supreme Court making decisions as to how long votes can be counted, when post-marked, etc.

Senate Flip or Flop

The control of the Senate is 53 to 47, with control by the Republicans. To turn the Senate control to Democrats, the election would have to produce a net 4 Democrats candidates. We predict the Senate will not flip, unless Georgia has rules that require 50% vote without a runoff in January. This is razor tight.

House is Safe

The House is expected to stay with a Democrat majority.

Rhode Island

As we went to “press” last night these were the totals of ballots “cast” in RI, as released by the RI Board of Elections.

• Emergency in-person ballots received: 149,535
• Scanned in as received: 156,228 mail ballots
• 105,280 ballots have been run through the Board of Elections’ high-speed optical scanners*

Name Change?

For the second time, voters considered a resolution to remove “and Providence Plantations” from the official name of the State of Rhode Island. The first time, it was defeated by 3 to 1. We predict a closer, but solid defeat.

Mayor of Cranston

Party affiliation has meant everything – and meant nothing in Cranston. Term-limited Allan Fung backs the Republican candidate (who defeated the Democrat, turned Republican Michael Farina in the primary), Ken Hopkins. Democrat Maria Bucci (former City Council member) is going for her first run. Hopkins and Bucci are cordial in this final run-off, and Cranston would be fortunate if the winner involved the non-winner in local government somehow.

Speaker of the House, Mattiello

In a true Rhode Island story, current Cranston Mayor Fung’s wife, Barbara Fenton-Fung is challenging long time representative Nicholas Mattiello. While there has been a considerable combining of forces to move Mattiello from office, primarily focused around his being Speaker of the House, the benefits to Cranston of Rep. Mattiello cannot be overlooked. Energized Fenton-Fung would be a freshman office holder, and a Republican around a sea of Progressive female Democrats, so what her power would be like has yet to be determined. We’d put our bets on her formidable personality to not be overlooked.

National Races – that impact the Senate

(incumbents listed first)

Arizona – Martha McSally (R) challenged by Mark Kelly (D) – special election – favoring Kelly

Colorado – Cory Gardner (R) challenged by John Hickenlooper (D) – likely Hickenlooper

Georgia – David Perdue (R) challenged by Jon Ossoff (D) – toss-up

Georgia – Special election – Kelly Loeffler (R) and Raphael Warnock (D) – may go to runoff in January if less than 50% win

Iowa – Joani Ernst (R) challenged by Theresa Greenfield (D) – toss-up

Maine – Susan Collins (R) challenged by Sara Gideon (D) – leaning Gideon (who is from East Greenwich, RI)

Montana – Steve Daines (R) challenged by Steve Bullock (D) – Daines favored

North Carolina – Thom Tillis (R) challenged by Cal Cunningham (D) – toss-up

South Carolina – Lindsey Graham (R) challenged by Jaime Harrison (D) – toss-up

Voting Today?

Polls open 7am to 8pm, except in Block Island where they open at 9am.

Unregistered to vote?

You can vote ONLY for President or VP – you have to register at your local voting location – see RI Secretary of State’s office for details.

Still have that mail ballot with you?

Don’t mail it – drop it off at your city/town drop box.

Need a Ride to Vote?

LYFT is offering rides to the polls, per availability, at 50% off.

Also – the NAACP Providence Branch and the RI Chapters of the historically black sororities and fraternities – Theta Psi Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Providence Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, and Sigma Nu Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, as well as the Rhode Island Council of Black Women have organized an initiative of the NAACP national office’s partnership with the LYFT car service. Voters can receive a free Lyft ride to the polls or a Voting Dropbox by using the Lyft promo code “NAACPVote2020”. 

In addition, residents of Charlegate Senior, Charlesgate Park, Carroll Towers and Hartford Park were provided transportation for early voting, and on Election Day, the NAACP Branch and the partnering organizations will provide rides from Carroll Towers and Hartford Park. Shuttle transportation must be requested in advance by emailing [email protected] or calling (401) 521-6222 on a first come, first served basis. Collectively, the civil rights organization and service organizations want to ensure that Providence residents travel safely to take part in democracy and the right to vote. 

In the 2016 election, less than sixty percent of eligible African-American voters turned out to the polls.  The NAACP Providence Branch call to action is part of a call-to- action by the NAACP national office. The early voting and mail-in ballots during this year’s election Urging African-Americans to vote is expected to be a central theme along with economic and employment disparities within the African-American and minority communities.” said NAACP Providence Branch President, Jim Vincent. 

Voting Results

Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea will launch a new hourly turnout tracker on Election Day to provide updates of Rhode Island voter turnout. The technology behind the new turnout tracker allows it to be updated more frequently than the data visualization that has been used throughout the early voting period.

Anyone who wishes to have the most recent Rhode Island voter turnout data throughout Election Day should use this link for the new hourly turnout tracker.

The new hourly turnout tracker will go live at 8 a.m. on November 3. Users can examine total turnout in Rhode Island as well as a breakdown of ballots cast by mail, early in-person, or at the polls. Users can also drill down to see this data at the precinct level. Data displayed in the hourly turnout tracker is preliminary and does not represent final voting tallies.

The Secretary of State’s office will also tweet regular turnout updates throughout the day from the @RISecState account.

Check RINewsToday.com for the results as we know them.