WPRI: Mail-in ballot results to be released on election night

THE R.I. BOARD of Elections voted Monday to begin releasing results of mail-in ballots on election night. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

PROVIDENCE – Results from mail-in ballots will be released beginning on election night under a policy change approved by the state election board Monday.

As first reported by WPRI-TV CBS 12, the R.I. Board of Elections on Monday voted unanimously to release an initial wave of mail-in ballots at 11 p.m. on Nov. 3, with a second wave of results released the following day. A third, final release will occur once all mail-in ballots are counted.

In previous elections, the state election board has not released results of any mail-in ballots until all ballots have been counted. The decision to release results earlier this year came in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and a historic increase in votes cast via mail-in ballots. 

As of Monday, the board has scanned more than 114,700 mail-in ballots, according to the secretary of state’s website. Election administers previously said they anticipate that half of all votes cast in the Nov. 3 election will come from mail-in ballots and those cast in early voting.

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Nancy Lavin is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.

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