By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Wednesday morning!
Early voting begins today in Rhode Island.
And state elections officials spent part of Tuesday getting the word out that they’re ready after testing and sealings hundreds of voting machines, deploying more than 600 machines and electronic pollbooks statewide, and training over 2,200 poll workers. Reporter Christopher Shea covered a media briefing at the Warwick Police Station, an early voting site.
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High tide in Warwick is at 11:07 a.m. and 11:31 p.m. Low tide is at 4:27 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:56 a.m. Sunset is at 6:07 p.m.
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Gov. Dan McKee speaks to an audience near and dear to his heart at 8:15 this morning at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Northeast Leadership Conference at the Omni Providence Hotel in Providence.
U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien are scheduled to speak at the new Ever Hope Center at the Rhode Island Foundation Building at 1 Union Station, Providence at 10:45 a.m., followed by an open house and tour. The center is dedicated to healing, support, and recovery for individuals and communities impacted by mass violence, including Brown University and the Dennis Lynch Ice Arena.
WPRO host Bill Bartholomew, standing, interacts with Rhode Island gubernatorial candidates Democrat Helena Buonanno Foulkes, seated far left, and Republican Aaron Guckian, second from left, and independent Ken Block, seen from the back at far right. (Photo courtesy of Cumulus Media)
By Nancy Lavin
Democrat Helena Buonanno Foulkes continues to lead the five-way race for governor, even as independent Ken Block has narrowed the gap, according to a WPRI-TV 12 poll published Tuesday. Foulkes, Block and struggling Republican Aaron Guckian met for a debate Tuesday morning pre-recorded at WPRO in East Providence. Meanwhile, the race for lieutenant governor appears to be a “nail-biter.”
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore looks through a binder during a press conference at an early voting site in the community room of the Warwick Police Station on Oct. 13, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
Rhode Island's election officials say they’re ready for the midterms, with hundreds of voting machines deployed, over 2000 poll workers trained and plans to address staffing shortages and potential federal involvement at polling places. “Our goal is for an election day to be uneventful from a public safety standpoint,” said Col. Michael Correia, Barrington’s police chief and president of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, told reporters at a briefing Tuesday.
A Mr. Potato Head sits outside Hasbro Inc’s headquarters on Newport Avenue in Pawtucket. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Hasbro’s relocation across state lines has been in the works for more than a year. But the toy company’s executives provided few details after outlining a broad schedule for completing the move by the end of the calendar year, and listing the Pawtucket headquarters for sale. Until now.
Samuel Martin of Little Compton won the 2nd Annual 2026 National Civics Bee – Rhode Island State Finals in June and is set to represent the state on Wednesday at the national competition in Washington, D.C. (Photo by East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce)
By Shauneen Miranda | D.C. Bureau
As partisan tensions rise in advance of the fast-approaching midterm elections, a Little Compton student will join 51 other students from across the country to test their knowledge Wednesday in a field that’s long enjoyed bipartisan support: civics. Samuel Martin, now a 9th grader at Portsmouth High School, will compete Wednesday at the annual National Civics Bee Championship in the nation’s capital.
A ‘Vote Yes on 4’ sign supports a $50 million bond question on the Nov. 3 ballot seeking to build a new Rhode Island State History Center in Providence and fund grants to preserve historic and cultural properties. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
COMMENTARY
By Matt Ulricksen
Rhode Islander voters will be asked to approve $600 million in general obligation bonds in the Nov. 3 general election. History suggests all five bond questions will pass, a Community College of Rhode Island political science professor says.
A recent court decision on voter rolls marks the latest rebuke of the Trump administration during more than a year of legal confrontations with dozens of states and voting rights groups. (Photo by Will Steinfeld/New Hampshire Bulletin)
By Jonathan Shorman | D.C. Bureau
Three weeks before Election Day, the Trump administration’s sprawling project to send sensitive personal information on millions of voters to the Department of Homeland Security has been declared illegal by a federal judge.
ICYMI
2026 General Election Voter Guide | Rhode Island Current Staff
US senators from both parties blast Trump order to import Russian diesel as illegal | Jacob Fischler, D.C. Bureau
Nancy Lavin wins A-Mark Prize for watchdog journalism | Janine L. Weisman
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