You’re Invited to See How Ballots Are Made
In preparation for Rhode Island’s own version of Super Tuesday, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis is inviting the public to a lottery Wed., March 7, at 5 p.m. in the State Room of the State House. We will use equipment borrowed from the R.I. Lottery to determine the order in which the candidates for [...]
Proposal to Repeal Voter ID Law Discussed Today
A bill to repeal the controversial new voter id law passed last session will be heard today by the House Judiciary Committee, said sponsor Charlene Lima, D- Cranston. Lima said the law, which requires people to show a valid state id card before voting, “is a solution to a non-existing problem.” “There is no widespread [...]
18,000 signatures later there are 119 candidates
One-hundred-and-nineteen Rhode Islanders qualified to run for presidential delegate in the state’s April 24 presidential primary. In order to qualify to appear on the ballot, the candidates had to collect the signatures of at least 150 eligible voters. More than 18,000 signatures were validated by last Friday’s deadline, according to Secretary of State A. Ralph [...]
My Pre-Existing Condition: The Price of Being Female
Will I get pregnant one day? I don’t know for sure, but you know who thinks they do . . . health insurance companies? I didn’t think it possible for an insurer to know whether I was going to get pregnant before I did, but remarkably, insurance companies seem to believe they know best. And [...]
Poll: Not looking good for Democrat David Cicilline
The big story to come out of WPRI’s poll last night is that Republican challenger Brendan Doherty is “crushing” incumbent Democrat David Cicilline in their contest for the right to represent Rhode Island in the 1st Congressional District. According to the poll that surveyed 250 Rhode Islanders, Doherty would garner 49 percent of the vote [...]
MERI testifies at Board of Elections Hearings about Voter ID
Rhode Island’s controversial new voter identification law goes into effect with this year’s election, and MERI has been actively working to make the process less challenging to our community, particularly transgendered individuals who could face unnecessary hinderances and potential disenfranchisement. This afternoon, MERI appeared in front of the Rhode Island Board of Elections and presented [...]
135 Want to Go to Presidential Convention
More than 130 Rhode Islanders filed with Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis to run for delegate in the state’s April 24 presidential primary. Among the prominent names are Joe Paolino, Myrth York and Ray Rickman as Barack Obama delegates and Don Carcieri, Scott Avedisian and Alan Fung as Mitt Romney delegates. All 135 candidates [...]
Cicilline’s Race to Lose
Saying U.S. Representative David Cicilline is vulnerable isn’t news, it’s akin to saying the sky is blue. But despite his flagging popularity, it will be difficult for a known-quantity challenger to knock him off in the primary. It seems likely that Anthony Gemma will be that challenger, having all-but made the announcement. David Segal seems [...]
Sound Fair to You?
Cities and towns across Rhode Island have faced financial hardship over the last several years. Cities have been devastated by the economic crisis, which itself was caused by a complete lack of oversight on Wall Street, oversight that even today Republicans are fighting tooth and nail. They even oppose the idea of having an agency [...]
How To Confront a Candidate, or How to Drink Liberally.
It is often bemoaned that candidates only talk about certain issues, only debate the same topics, and hardly ever disagree on anything of true substance. “My economic package is better than yours.” “I’m tougher on our enemies than the other guy.” Blah, blah, blah. When we consider that Obama, Bush, and McCain all agreed on [...]
Will Rep. Bob Watson’s 2nd Drug Arrest in 9 Months End His Political Career?
The Providence Journal (and everyone else) is reporting that Rep. Bob Watson was arrested again for possession of marijuana early Sunday morning. When the police arrived, they saw a white Volvo sedan in the lot, with its rubber tire missing from the rim on the front driver’s side. The driver’s side door was open and [...]
Eleven Shocking Facts About Campaign Finance (or Why We Need Publicly Funded Elections)
Over at The Nation, they have a list of Eleven Shocking Facts About Campaign Finance (and they’re not pretty): The amount of independent expenditure and electioneering communication spending by outside groups has quadrupled since 2006. [Center for Responsive Politics] The percentage of spending coming from groups that do not disclose their donors has risen from 1 percent to 47 percent since [...]
Help put President Obama on the ballot in Rhode Island!
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, the signature gathering canvass has been RESCHEDULED for Sunday, January 22nd from 12:00 to 3:00 pm. Volunteers will meet at OFA-RI HQ — 151 Broadway, Providence, RI 02903 (Suite 310). You can RSVP here for the event. This morning Obama for America – Rhode Island volunteer Jeff P. filed President [...]
Understanding The Intersection of Race, Music and Politics
(RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS) – If I were to describe some of the events I have coming up as political, I’m sure someone would ask me, “hey Reza, what is political about an event featuring spoken word poetry and world rhythms?” This is the type of question I love to answer, though, sadly, few seem to [...]
Rep. Lima to Introduce Voter ID Repeal Legislation
Watch for Rep. Charlene Lima to introduce legislation today to repeal the Voter ID bill that passed last session and was signed by Governor Chafee. She has been circulating the legislation in the House and has about 15 co-sponsors. It will likely be coming today in tandem with her press statement which was not completed [...]
Join Obama for America – Rhode Island at a State of the Union Watch Party in Your Neighborhood
Scores of Rhode Islanders are getting together next Tuesday night in homes, restaurants and college campuses across the state to watch President Obama’s State of the Union address. And it’s not too late for you to join them! “This is an important speech—one you, your friends and your family can’t miss,” says Devin Driscoll, Rhode [...]
Santorum and Romney Square Off On Felon Disenfranchisement
Rick Santorum asked Mitt Romney point blank: “Do you believe people who were felons, who served their time, who exhausted their parole and probation, should be given the right to vote?” This was in response to an ad by Romney’s “Super-PAC” attacking the former Pennsylvania senator. The ad says Mr. Santorum voted to “let convicted felons vote” [...]
Philadelphia Freedom: Is This The New Swing Vote?
A coalition of seventeen organizations have recently embarked on a revolutionary voter registration drive, and what better place to be revolutionary than Philadelphia? The Returning Citizens Voter Movement is directed towards formerly incarcerated people, engaging many more people with felony records who never went to prison, and far more people without records who have a [...]
Libby Kimzey Raises Over $13,000 in Twelve Days
So, for those of you who don’t know, RI Future writer and all around awesome person, Libby Kimzey, is running for House District 8. She had to delay her announcement until late December due to the contract she was under. But for the 12 days of December from the 20th to the 31st, she raised [...]
Rethinking the Cicilline and Doherty Race
With the recent announcement that Loughlin has decided not to run for Congress, I’ve been putting some thought into the upcoming CD1 race between Cicilline and Doherty. It seems that the campaign has gotten slightly more difficult for Cicilline, but I don’t see it nearly as much of an uphill battle as some others do. [...]
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