PROVIDENCE – A Wednesday recount of the early, in-person votes cast in Cranston affirmed the victors of the mayoral and House District 15 races, according to unofficial results as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The R.I. Board of Elections earlier that day authorized a recount of the 9,000 ballots cast in Cranston by early, in-person voting after a technology glitch with a USB drive prevented the city from recording and sharing results as planned on Election Day.
The addition of these ballots widened the lead for Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, who won the District 15 race after House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, a Democrat, conceded earlier in the morning. The roughly 1,700 early ballots added to the race gave Fenton-Fung a decisive 1,400-vote margin over Mattiello.
The update also affirmed results of the city’s open mayoral race, in which Republican Kenneth Hopkins clinched the seat over Democrat Maria Bucci with just over 54% of the vote.
The state will continue to tabulate mail-in ballots over the coming days and update results online accordingly, state Board of Elections Executive Director Robert Rapoza said. Provisional ballots and those which were torn or damaged by tabulating equipment in the initial count were also slated to be counted on Wednesday.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
This story has been updated.
