Tuesday, September 9 Primary Election Day

Rhode Island – The primary election of the General Assembly and local Rhode Island will be held for Democrats and Republicans to elect candidates of their party. A total of 750,135 Rhode Islanders are entitled to vote in the primaries. Democrats and registered Republicans can vote in their own party primaries. Unaffiliated voters – representing more than half of all eligible voters – may vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries. An unaffiliated voter voting in any party primary will automatically become a member of that party unless he or she asks for poll workers disenrollment form and sign it before leaving the polls.

Bring your photo ID: This primary is the first major election in which it is required for Rhode Island voters to show a photo ID at polling places. In addition to the Rhode Island driver’s license the other valid, acceptable photo IDs include RIPTA bus passes, identification cards issued by the state, the university and military IDs, medical cards issued by the government and American passports. Voters who do not bring acceptable identification to the polls may vote using a standard «provisional» ballot. If the signature d in the polling place matches the signature of the voter registration, the vote will be counted.