Your Guide to the 2024 Elections

Editor's Note: Marianne Williamson is a Democratic presidential candidate although she is not on the Rhode Island primary ballot. Democratic candidates on the Rhode Island ballot are Joe Biden and Dean Phillips. You can read about them below.

How do I register to vote?

To be eligible to register to vote in Rhode Island, you must meet the following three criteria: a United States citizen, live in the city or town where you wish to vote and be at least 16 years old, the age when Rhode Island residents can pre-register to vote.

To vote in an election, you must be registered in the community where plan to vote and be at least 18 years old on election day.

Register through DMV

When completing forms at the Division of Motor Vehicles, unless you specifically opt out, you will automatically be registered to vote.

Register online

You can register online.

Register by mail

You can register by mail by downloading the registration form and mailing it in.

Register in person

You can register in person at your local board of canvassers. You can save time by downloading the registration form and filling it out ahead of time.

Same day registration for president

For presidential elections only, you can register to vote for president and vice president on Election Day in November, but not for other offices, at a location designated by your local board of canvassers.

Confidential registration for crime victims

Victims of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, trafficking or abuse can register confidentially and keep their address from becoming public through the states address confidentiality program.

Register at federal social-service agencies

Under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, Rhode Island residents can register to vote at all federally funded social-service agencies that provide public assistance programs.

When are elections taking place this year?

• Presidential Preference Primary: April 2
• State Primary: Sept. 10
• State Wide General Election: Nov. 5

Which presidential candidates are running in Rhode Island?

In addition to meeting federal qualifications, presidential candidates must file a Statement of Intent and collect 1,000 signatures in order to appear on Rhode Island’s Presidential Preference Primary ballot.

The presidential candidates who garnered enough signatures to qualify for the Rhode Island ballot include: Democrats President Joe Biden and Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and Republicans former President Donald Trump, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Haley and entrepreneur Vivek G. Ramaswamy.

Of those candidates, Biden and Trump are the only candidates who have not suspended their campaigns.

To learn more about Rhode Island's Presidential Preference Primary, see https://vote.sos.ri.gov/Forms/Elections/Guides/2024PPPGuide.pdf.

What do I need to take to the polls?

If you plan on voting in-person on election day, you can find your voting location options here.

Except for presidential elections only, you must be registered to vote by the deadline, well before election day.

You must show a current and valid photo ID. If you do not bring an acceptable photo ID to the polls, you may cast a provisional ballot. This means that your vote may be counted by your local board of canvassers after they verify your eligibility. Check to see whether your ID meets eligibility requirements.

What do I need to know about absentee voting?

Eligible voters do not need an excuse to vote by mail ballot in Rhode Island.

You can request a mail ballot online or see other ways to get a mail ballot.

What are the deadlines for absentee voting?

The deadline to request a mail ballot is 21 days before election day.

You can drop off your completed ballot at an official ballot dropbox in person to the state Board of Elections, 2000 Plainfield Pike, Suite A, Cranston. Dropbox locations are shown online.

Ballots may be returned by mail or in person, and all ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on election day. The state recommends allowing seven days to make sure your ballot is received if it is mailed.

What about early voting?

In the 20 days leading up to election day, you can vote in person at your city or town hall or at a designated location during regular business hours. View voting locations and hours in your community.

You must show a current and valid photo ID. If you do not bring an acceptable photo ID to the polls, you may cast a provisional ballot. This means that your vote may be counted by your local board of canvassers after they verify your eligibility. Check to see whether your ID meets eligibility requirements.

Delegates also on the ballot

There are 16 Democrats and 53 Republicans running in Rhode Island's April 2 presidential primaries for the chance to go to their party's national conventions this summer as delegates.

Rhode Island Democrats will send 30 delegates and two alternates, including the state's two U.S. senators, two congressmen, the governor and other notables to their party's convention. Only 14 of those seats are up for grabs in the April 2 primary.

There are 16 Biden-pledged Democrats competing for those 14 seats, including three city mayors: Brett Smiley of Providence, Don Grebien of Pawtucket and Maria Rivera of Central Falls.

In addition to the three mayors, the list of Biden-pledged candidates includes:

Sandra Cano of Pawtucket; Kinnan G.S. Dowie; William Foulkes, the husband of 2022 gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes; Matthew Gunnip, SEIU Local 580 president; Thomas William Kane, Senate aide and chairman of the Cumberland Democratic Town Committee; Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson; Kristan Peters-Hamlin; and Debra Rota, a special assistant in the governor's office.

Also: RICAGV Executive Director Carden; Autumn Guillotte, a Rhode Island AFL-CIO field director; Erica Hammond, field director for Climate Jobs Rhode Island; Mary-Murphy Walsh, an elected organizer at SEIU 1199 and president of Young Democrats of Rhode Island; and Jay Gorman Wegimont, a Providence school district spokesman.

There are 25 candidates competing to be Haley delegates at the Republican National Convention, 24 backing Trump and four running as "uncommitted" Republican delegates.

The state GOP gets to send 35 delegates, 32 of them elected (including 16 elected delegates and 16 "alternates") and three more who go by virtue of their party positions: National Committeeman Frias, National Committeewoman Sue Cienki and state GOP Chairman Joe Powers.

Those seeking to go to the convention as elected Haley delegates include former state GOP Chairman Giovanni Cicione, former Rep. Dan Reilly; Kenneth Naylor, chairman of Rhode Island Young Republicans; and Christopher Gontarz, president-elect of the Rhode Island Bar Association.

In addition, the aspiring Haley delegates include: Ricci, Kathleen M. Dickinson, Martin A. Saklad, longtime Providence GOP activist David Talan; Melita M. Warner; John Buehler; John D. Conforti; Harry Joseph Curran; Theresa M. Daly; Lori Morse; Stephanie Calise; Sheila Lee Curran; William Dewitt; Hopkinton Town Councilman Scott Bill Hirst; Kirk Jordan; former Bar Association President Thomas Lyons; Paul Maloney; Richmond Town Councilman Richard Nassaney; Emmanuel Cholo Nyema; home health care lobbyist and former member of the East Providence Board of Canvassers Nicholas Oliver; and Stephen K. Swallow.

Those seeking to go as Trump delegates include Rep. Sherry Roberts and former state Rep. Justin Price, the only Rhode Island legislator who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, Trump rally in Washington that evolved into a riot, which Price blamed on "Antifa."

The other Trump delegate hopefuls include: Durfee, Paul Carroll, John M. Conte; Edward Doura Jr.; Susan Anne Grenon; Olga Harbar; Michelle M. Sztabor; Lacey McGreevy; Harold Robert Rilling; Sean M. Todd; Exeter Republican Chair Diane Bampton Allen; Catherine E. Canavan; Bristol Town Republican Chairman Thomas M. Carroll; Aimee M. DeGregory; Allyn E. Meyers; Jennifer P. Nerbonne; Kathleen Odell; Esmeralda M. Pereira; Jorge Porras; Gregory J. Rice; David J. Shepherd; and Preston W. Woodward.