It could be a wait at polls

By John Howell
Posted 4/26/16

So, you’re planning to vote in today’s presidential preference primary and you think you’ll be in and out of the polls in minutes.

That could happen, but it’s more likely you’ll …

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It could be a wait at polls

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So, you’re planning to vote in today’s presidential preference primary and you think you’ll be in and out of the polls in minutes.

That could happen, but it’s more likely you’ll encounter a wait, predicts Dottie McCarthy of the city’s board of canvassers. McCarty has been fielding the calls and she says there’s a high level of interest in both the Democratic and Republican candidates for president. If 2008 is a reliable measure when Hillary Clinton and Barack O’Bama were vying for the Democratic nomination, Warwick voters will turn out. That year, 33.5 percent of the city’s more than 60,000 registered voters cast ballots in the primary. That compares to a state average of 24 percent.

With hotly contested primaries in both parties, McCarthy thinks the turnout could be stronger. McCarthy and the board are doing what they can to expedite the process Tuesday.

There is one polling location per ward. In the case of Ward 6 and Ward 7, the two polls are located at the Buttonwoods Community Center on West Shore Road. About 7,000 registered voters are eligible to vote at each poll. Assuming a 50 percent turnout that means 3,500 voters would cast ballots between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. or an average of almost 270 an hour or better than four a minute.

That’s a lot of people made all the more problematic by the ballot. The blue Democratic ballot is relatively simple. It’s one-sided and voters can vote for one presidential candidate and seven delegates to the National Convention. The yellow Republican ballot is two-sided. Voters can cast a single vote for one of four candidates or uncommitted plus three congressional delegates. On the reverse side, voters in the Republican primary can cast ballots for 10 statewide delegates from a list of 30 candidates for Donald Trump; 13 for Ted Cruz; 17 for John Kasich; 33 for Marco Rubio (although he has withdrawn from the race) and one uncommitted candidate.

To expedite the process, 10 supervisors, a moderator, a clerk and a greeter will staff each of the polls. The board of canvassers has subdivided the list of registered voters for each ward alphabetically into five books. Greeters will instruct the voter which of the five lines they should join. The voter should be prepared to show a photo identification – a driver’s license, educational ID, passport or voter ID card – and in the case of an unaffiliated voter state the primary they intend to vote in. They cannot vote in both the Republican and Democratic primaries. Voters already affiliated with a party can only vote in that primary. After signing the proper form and given a ballot, voters will have 10 minutes to cast their ballot. After that time, McCarthy said, “We’re going to urge them along.”

In addition to those staffing the polls, McCarthy knows from experience that the canvassers’ three board members will be out checking on the polls. Two state technicians will be available to troubleshoot mechanical problems should they occur.

“I see a lot of people voting,” McCarthy said. About 100 had cast emergency ballots by Thursday. Those ballots were available until Monday for people not expecting to be in the state today or, for some other reason, unable to get to the polls today.

The media attention given the races and the fact that the nominations haven’t been sewn up McCarthy sees as driving the turnout today. But she thinks it’s more than that, too.

“I think it’s people making a statement. It’s a statement vote at this point,” she said.

The following are the polling locations by ward. The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.:

Ward 1 – Aspray Boat House, Pawtuxet Park, 2 East St.

Ward 2 – Pilgrim Senior Center, 27 Pilgrim Parkway

Ward 3 – National Guard Armory, 541 Airport Rd.

Ward 4 – William Shields Post, 662 West Shore Rd.

Ward 5 - Heritage Christian Fellowship, 358 Warwick Neck Ave.

Ward 6 - Buttonwoods Community Center, 3027 West Shore Rd.

Ward 7 - Buttonwoods Community Center, 3027 West Shore Rd.

Ward 8 - Shalom Apartments, 1 Shalom Dr.

Ward 9 - First Baptist Church, 550 Cowesett Rd.

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