The laughter of little children faded from the atmosphere inside of the former Belknap School in 1941, according to the chalk message scrawled on the blackboard.

But late last Friday afternoon, the giggles were replaced by former schoolgirls and current poll workers Carol Salvatore, Gladys Boornazian and Joann Faella, as the steady stream of early voters started to fade into the weekend and the polls were set to close for the day.

“They’re usually lined up Monday morning,” Salvatore said.

She was right.

Three days later, on Monday morning, about a dozen voters gathered in a jumbled line in front of the building, which is now the Johnston Land Trust, at 509 Greenville Ave.

Henry Giolitti stood on the ramp smiling. He was first in line and ready to cast his vote.

Alternates Needed

Two weeks into the early voting process, Johnston still needs a few alternate poll workers for the Nov. 5 General Election.

“Johnston is still in need of alternate poll workers in case of any call outs the morning of the election,” said Cinzia Travisono, of Johnston’s Board of Canvassers.

Early voting really caught on in Johnston this cycle.

According to data provided by the Rhode Island Department of State, Johnston has approximately 22,492 registered voters (8,460 Democrats, or 38%; 3,553 Republicans, 16%; and 10,468 Unaffiliated, or 47%).

“Last night we ended the day with 2,851 voters since Oct. 16,” Travisono said early Wednesday morning.

The early vote count nearly rivals recent turnouts in off-year and special elections. Of course, the next U.S. President is on the ballot.

Big Lines

Neighboring cities like Providence and Cranston (and nearby Warwick) have all reported long lines to vote early. Initial reports show Cranston and Warwick are leading the state in early voting totals.

“But we’ve got over 2,000,” Salvatore said last Friday afternoon. She checked the official number of ballots cast so far — it was 2,074.

By Tuesday afternoon, the number swelled by nearly a third (around 800).

“We had the Primary and we didn’t even have 200, in the same amount of time,” Salvatore said.

In comparison, Cranston, a city three times bigger than Johnston with three times the number of voters, topped 5,000 General Election early voters this week.

Quick & Easy

Erin Blackman and Fran Paliotta showed up to cast their votes Friday afternoon.

In a matter of minutes, both were checked in and reading their ballots carefully.

Early voting switched to a new location this year. Voters from all Johnston precincts used the single Land Trust building polling location.

“It’s always a difficult balance because you want to keep continuity as much as possible so you don’t confuse people, yet you want to make positive changes if possible,” Johnston Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Jr. said before the Primary in September. “With that being said, we did change where early voting takes place. In the past it occurred at town hall, but due to accessibility issues, particularly for seniors, it’s now at the Johnston Land Trust Building.”

The former Belknap School once operated, from 1893 to 1941, in the Greenville Avenue building, which is now home to the Johnston Land Trust. The building was restored in 2018.

Two months ago, Polisena also reminded voters that the Johnston Land Trust Building is ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible, has “plenty of parking, and it's right off a main road near a highway exit.”

Parking, however, has been tight outside at times, like when the polls first open each morning since General Election early voting started.

State Law Says …

On Monday, at 9 a.m., the parking lot was full and voters started parking along busy Greenville Avenue. They crossed the thoroughfare, dodging traffic between red lights.

Someone had posted a tiny sign in the ground next to the bank-like Land Trust sign, urging a vote against Johnston’s Ballot Question 7, a proposed expansion of the school committee from five to nine members (adding four appointments to the committee; two mayoral, and two by the town council).

Despite the parking, compared to the early voting location in Cranston, where city officials have had to outline an electioneering boundary in chalk, Johnston’s early polling place was relatively sleepy and running smoothly.

Rhode Island state law stipulates that there’s no campaigning permitted inside a polling place or within 50 feet of the exterior entrance of a polling place. If voters witness violations of the law, they should report them to the local Canvassing Authority.

Faith Chybowski, Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Rhode Island Department of State and Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore, forwarded a link to the state statute governing electioneering outside the polls.

“No poster, paper, circular, or other document designed or tending to aid, injure, or defeat any candidate for public office or any political party on any question submitted to the voters shall be distributed or displayed within the voting place or within fifty (50) feet of the entrance or entrances to the building in which voting is conducted at any primary or election,” according to state law. “Neither shall any election official display on his or her person within the voting place any political party button, badge, or other device tending to aid, injure, or defeat the candidacy of any person for public office or any question submitted to the voters or to intimidate or influence the voters.”

Christopher D. Hunter, a communications specialist with Advocacy Solutions (a public relations firm working for Amore’s office), had advice for any voters who felt the state laws on campaigning at the polls have been violated.

“Any suspected violations of polling place rules should be reported to the local Board of Canvassers,” Hunter replied via email. “In the event of any threatening behavior, people should call their local police department.”

CHECK FIRST

Visit vote.sos.ri.gov to find your Rhode Island polling precinct and a sample ballot. Contact the Johnston Board of Canvassers for any questions at 401-553-8856 or email ctravisano@johnston-ri.us.