PROVIDENCE – The chairman of Rhode Island’s Republican Party is urging state leaders to shorten the 20-day in-person early-voting window, WPRI-TV CBS 12 reported Monday.
Joe Powers, R.I. GOP chairman, is calling on Secretary of State Gregg Amore to revisit the process in the wake of the investigation of fraudulent signatures submitted by the Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos campaign and Don Carlson suspending his campaign after WPRI-TV uncovered an alleged inappropriate relationship with a college student while the Democrat served as a professor at Williams College in 2019.
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“Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos’ signature scandal highlighted that there is no actual mechanism for removing candidates from the ballot who are found to have submitted fraudulent signatures or any other infractions,” Powers wrote to Amore, which was obtained by WPRI-TV. “Don Carlson will continue to be on the ballot even though he has suspended his campaign.”
Powers claimed the 20-day early-voting range is too long, “especially when the primary and in-person voting for the general election are less than 45 days apart.”
“A five-day in-person early voting period will ensure Rhode Islanders who can’t cast their ballot on Election Day can still take advantage of in-person early voting,” he wrote.
The R.I. Board of Elections told WPRI-TV it is notifying all communities in the 1st District to update the signage at their polling locations to notify voters that Carlson has dropped out of the race. As of Aug. 27, 5,000 voters in the 1st District had cast a ballot in the congressional race, the board told WPRI-TV.
The Board of Elections also told WPRI-TV that those who have already voted for Carlson would not be allowed to vote for another candidate.
The special primary for the 1st Congressional District will take place on Sept. 5, followed by the special election on Nov. 7.
Yet another republican trying to restrict voting because republicans have no platform people will vote for. Signatures for a candidate to get on a ballet have nothing to do with my right to vote.