5Q: Rob Rock |
Director of elections, Rhode Island
1. How is the state preparing for the upcoming general election? Right now, our office is preparing paper ballots and disseminating important voter information. The R.I. Board of Elections is programming and certifying the state’s voting equipment and conducting poll worker training. Local cities and towns are processing voter registrations, mail-ballot applications and identifying polling places and poll workers.
2. What do you see as the biggest successes of the primary? The biggest success was the growing popularity of mail ballots and early voting. Over 30,000 voters cast their ballot ahead of primary day and we anticipate that number to grow in November. This makes Election Day operations smoother for local elections officials and alleviates lines at polling places.
3. What lessons learned/challenges from the primary election will you seek to improve upon in the upcoming general election and how? After the coding error that was identified on the Spanish screens of the ExpressVote accessible voting equipment, it became clear that our office needed to work with the R.I. Board of Elections to make sure the information presented on those screens is accurate. Our offices are working jointly to develop new procedures to proof the coding of the ExpressVote machines and conduct thorough logic and accuracy testing.
4. How does the increasing prevalence of mail-in ballots and early voting change or complicate the work of the state elections division? The pandemic changed how many voters exercise their rights to vote. Many voters who had only ever voted on Election Day opted to vote by mail or early in 2020. As a result, our office had to develop new procedures to assist local cities and towns to verify mail-ballot applications and handle the influx of early voting. Technology like electronic poll books has made the shift less complicated and we are ready for a high voter turnout in November.
5. Under new legislation, the secretary of state is also able to award a contract for electronic voting for certain groups, which has raised concerns from security and voting groups. What would you say to those who are concerned that this technology is too risky for voters and the state as a whole? Trust in elections is paramount to our democracy. Voters should be reassured knowing that many stakeholders are working together to not only ensure voters have equitable access but that our systems meet the highest federal cybersecurity standards.
