The Rhode Island Board of Elections is set to review recount requests in several tight legislative races, with candidates in three districts hoping for a second look at the results.
The Rhode Island Board of Elections will meet on Thursday to consider recount requests filed by candidates in four state legislative races. The meeting will be held at 9:15 a.m. at the board’s Cranston offices and will also be streamed on its YouTube page. While the race for one of these seats has already been disqualified, three key legislative contests remain under scrutiny after candidates sought recounts by the Tuesday afternoon deadline.
Tightly Contested Districts Await Recount Decision
The request to review the ballots comes after the November 5 election, which saw a tight race for several seats in the Rhode Island General Assembly. Although the recounts will not affect the Democratic Party’s stronghold on the General Assembly, where they hold a dominant majority, the outcome of these races is still critical for the candidates involved.
The Rhode Island elections board is preparing to review the recount requests for three state legislative races, which include House Districts 15 and 21, as well as Senate District 29. As of the initial results from the November election, Democrats hold a commanding 64 of the 75 seats in the House and 34 of the 38 Senate seats. With such overwhelming control, these individual contests likely won’t change the overall balance of power.
However, the closeness of these races has left candidates and their supporters anxious. The recount requests are expected to be discussed at the Rhode Island Board of Elections’ meeting on Thursday. If approved, the board will conduct manual re-feeding of the ballots into optical scan voting equipment to verify the accuracy of the original counts.
House District 15: A Tight Race Between Two Rivals
Among the races under review, House District 15 is drawing the most attention. Republican Chris Paplauskas leads Democrat Maria Bucci by a mere 30 votes as of the November 7 results, which have been reported as preliminary. This district, located in Cranston, was previously held by Republican Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, who chose not to run for re-election after a failed bid for Cranston mayor.
This race has been intensely scrutinized, especially given the small margin between the two candidates. As the votes stand, Paplauskas is in the lead, but the recount will provide a clearer picture and could potentially alter the final results. If the recount request is approved, this election result could have a profound impact on the political landscape in the region.
House District 21: A New Face for Warwick?
The race in House District 21, which covers parts of Warwick, is also under consideration for a recount. Republican Marie Hopkins is currently ahead of Democrat James McElroy by a margin of 90 votes as of November 7. This district, previously represented by outgoing Democrat Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson, has seen a shift as Hopkins attempts to hold onto the seat for the Republican Party. McElroy is hoping for a recount to challenge the results, and the review process will begin Thursday.
This election has piqued the interest of many, particularly because it represents a seat that has flipped in recent years. The outcome will be closely watched, as Warwick is a crucial battleground for both parties in the state.
Senate District 29: A Democratic Challenger Surges Ahead
In Senate District 29, the race between Republican incumbent Anthony DeLuca and Democratic challenger Peter Appollonio Jr. remains tight. As of November 7, Appollonio leads DeLuca by just 67 votes, a small margin that has prompted the challenger to request a recount. Appollonio’s request highlights the narrowness of the race, and the recount could potentially shift the result in his favor. If the recount request is approved, this race could change the balance in the Rhode Island Senate.
DeLuca, a long-serving Republican, is facing significant pressure from Appollonio, whose campaign has energized local voters. While the outcome may not alter the overall composition of the General Assembly, it remains a high-stakes contest for both candidates.
A Disqualified Race: House District 66
One race has already been disqualified from the recount process. In House District 66, Democratic Rep. Jennifer Boylan was re-elected with nearly 65% of the vote, leaving her Republican challenger, Janine Wolf, with just 35%. According to Rhode Island state law, recounts are only authorized when the margin of victory is narrow. For races with fewer than 20,000 votes, the losing candidate must be within 2% or 200 votes of the winner to qualify for a recount. Since Boylan’s victory far exceeded this threshold, Wolf’s request for a recount was disqualified.
While Wolf’s challenge was dismissed, other recount requests for local town and city council races are still under consideration. These include elections in Barrington, Richmond, Warwick, Woonsocket, and several school committee races across the state.
An Unsettling Trend: More Local Recount Requests
In addition to state legislative races, recount requests have also been submitted for local town council and school committee elections in cities and towns including Pawtucket, Richmond, and Woonsocket. However, several of these requests, including those related to the Richmond Town Council, the Richmond School Committee, and the Pawtucket School Committee, have also been disqualified.
The Rhode Island Board of Elections is working through the numerous recount requests as part of its duty to ensure fair and accurate elections. While most of the recounts may not change the overall balance of power in the state, the process provides candidates with a critical opportunity to verify the legitimacy of election results, particularly when the margin of victory is slim.
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