Matt has a state-by-state map of poll closing times. (Um… can we note how gross it is that Indiana’s polls close at 6pm local time?) What the hell, we’ll just borrow the borrowed image:

He also posts on elections of note in Rhode Island. If you want to help out, you should call the Progressive Leadership Fund at 463-5368.

As Jess mentioned, we encourage you to vote YES on Question 2. We also encourage you to vote YES on Question 1, because we’d otherwise lose about $440 million in federal transportation funds. But man do we wish the state would wean itself off of bonds and borrowing. (Though this isn’t the worst time to bet that the feds will be less austere in coming years.)

FairVote RI presents its 2008 election guide. Read on for more!    -Matt Sledge, FairVote RI Director

1. Where to vote

2. How to vote

3. What to do if you run into problems

4. How to stay informed

—

1. Where to vote. FairVote strongly recommends that Rhode Island voters use Secretary of State Mollis’s Voter Information Center today. Double-check your polling place; many have changed since the party primaries in September and the presidential primaries in March. More than 80 polling places have closed since the last presidential election. Mollis expects record turnout–perhaps as many as 500,000 of our state’s 700,000 registered voters–so there could be lines.

more »

So, a blog co-founded by an elected official is probably weird place to post this, but I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my voting habits when it comes to state government, and I kinda wanted to know about the rest of you felt. more »

Young people. And jack else. (Except for Providence, I mean. And Fox Point in particular. Woot, woot!)

When I went to the SEIU convention back in September, I was impressed by the fact that, for the first time as far as I’d seen, Obama seemed angry. He was finessing a really fine line between impassioned and entitled, assured and cocky. Right on that divide.

In particular, he went off on a catty riff: “Oh — SEIU. You guys wear purple or something? I heard about you…” to highlight the fact that he’d actually walked the picket lines, for years and years, while Edwards was new to them even though he’d become the “labor candidate.”

For the first time, I thought he actually had a shot. Tonight I’m a little bit hopeful, in that he hit that note again. more »

On Tuesday, Dennis Kucinich is up for re-nomination for his seat in Congress. He’s seeing a strong challenge from Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman. But with a whole bunch of Dems on the ballot, and Kucinich with a 56% favorability rating — even before he hit the trail hard in January — it looks unlikely that Kucinich will win by less than double-digits.

Kucinich gets criticized for focusing on issues of national import, and on not bringing home enough pork:

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This is part of a broader piece on the RI numbers. Fact number one is a bit of a surprise to me — you’d think that people would tend to come out more in the primaries, in a state where the generals often mean so little.

3 Thing You Didn’t Know About Rhode Island Primaries

1. Historically, voters in Rhode Island do not turn out in great numbers for presidential primaries. In fact, Rhode Island frequently has the nation’s lowest voter turnout rate for primaries, once dipping as low as 4 percent voter participation.

2. Currently, over 50 percent of voters in Rhode Island are registered as “unaffiliated.” They may vote in the party presidential primary of their choosing. However, once they choose, they are considered a member of that party. Residents can “disaffiliate” by filling out a form at their polling location after they vote.

3. To determine the order in which candidates will appear on this year’s presidential primary ballots, Rhode Island Secretary of State Ralph Mollis used a machine borrowed from the Rhode Island Lottery. Much like the daily lottery numbers are chosen, each candidate was assigned a ball, and the order in which these floated to the top decided their place on the ballot. This year’s Democratic ballot will read (in this order): Uncommitted, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama. The Republican ballot will be ordered: John McCain, Ron Paul, Hugh Cort, Mitt Romney, Uncommitted, Alan Keyes, Mike Huckabee.

In related news, Mike Gravel was found living with several artists in a concrete room underneath the Providence Place Mall.

But seriously:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will come to Rhode Island Thursday afternoon for a rally in Warwick. He’s the first presidential candidate to do so in the lead-up to the state’s March 4 primary.

McCain is slated to appear at 1:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza, said state Rep. Robert Watson, who is chairman of McCain’s campaign in Rhode Island. Watson said the rally is a free-to-the-public, first-come first-serve event.

As most Dosers know, McCain has long been a supporter of War(wick).

from Chris Barnett @ the Secretary of State’s Office

Today at 5 p.m. in the State Room at the State House, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will use a borrowed lottery machine to determine the order in which the Democrat and Republican presidential candidates will appear on the ballot in the state’s March 4 primary. The public is invited.

In a scene familiar to Rhode Islanders who watch the state’s daily lottery numbers selected on television, candidates will be assigned specially calibrated, white plastic balls. A representative from the R.I. Lottery will operate the machine. After each ball floats to the top of the machine, Mollis will announce the name of the candidate.

On the Democratic side, the candidates are Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Hugh Cort, Mike Huckabee, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney are expected to compete for position on the Republican ballot.

The Secretary of State’s office will also use the lottery machine to determine ballot position for the 184 Rhode Islanders who are competing for the right to attend the Democratic or Republican National Convention as a delegate. more »

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PtFKSWhXIU]
Agitators from blackboxvoting.org say the NH recount was marred by chain of custody issues. Thoughts? more »

She waited til the morning-of, out of fear of coming in third.

An excerpt, courtesy of ABC’s Raelyn Johnson: “Hello, This is the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. Before you vote on Saturday, you should know that John Edwards voted for permanent trade relations with China. That’s right, John Edwards voted for the bill that cost thousands of jobs. Like the ones in the textile mills he talks about so much down here. You should also know that John Edwards made nearly a half a million dollars working for a Wall Street investment fund. A fund that’s been profiting on foreclosing on the homes of families; including 100 homes right here in South Carolina. . . . Can you trust John Edwards? This call is paid for by the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign.”

Standard Clintonian hypocrisy: Remember of course, that Chelsea Clinton works for a hedge fund. And most-favored-nation status for China was pushed through by Bill.

Matt has the info on the mechanisms by which Rhode Island’s delegates to the Democratic Convention will be determined. 40% of the delegates needed to win the Dem nomination aren’t a function of primaries, but are so-called ’super delegates’ — elected officials and party officers and such. It’s a firewall for the party establishment.

In RI and every state, the remainder break down proportionally, based on how many votes candidates receive in the party primaries.

Got News If You Want It

• Bush begs for the oils, H-Clint: “Pathetic…”
• McCain v. Romney= much bitchslappery.
• Rush Limbaugh deftly incorporates the words ’spade’ and ‘hoe’ into discussion about Obama and Clinton. Stay classy Rush!
• Those damn gay hackers!
• Actor Brad Renfro dead at 25

In case you didn’t bother to watch the MI primary returns, Mittens McRomnibus won big over John McCain last night. Of course, the fact that his dad was the governor of Michigan had nothing to do with that.
What does this mean for us RI spectators?

On the most tangible level, the vote on Tuesday was proof from the ballot box of what polls have shown: this is a party that is adrift, deeply divided and uninspired when it comes to its presidential candidates and unsure of how to counter an energized Democratic Party.

Even in victory, Mr. Romney stood as evidence of the trouble the party finds itself in. He won, but only after a major effort in a state he once expected to win in a walk. That was before he lost Iowa and New Hampshire, two other states where he had campaigned all out.

Oh, also, the MI GOP sent out a press release congratulating John McCain on his MI victory, only to backpedal when that turned out to be wrong. more »

Thanks to Chris Barnett at the Secretary of State’s Office for this update.

Mollis Announces Final R.I. Presidential Primary Field

13 candidates make the ballot; 7 with more than 2,000 signatures compared to 1 in 2004.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Jan. 10, 2008) – Thirteen presidential candidates will be on Rhode Island’s March 4 primary ballot, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis announced today.

Today was the deadline for the secretary of state’s office to certify that presidential hopefuls had collected the signatures of at least 1,000 eligible Rhode Island voters that they needed in order to qualify for the primary.

“One sign that Rhode Islanders are taking this primary very seriously is the number of signatures they submitted. In 2004, only President Bush collected more than 2,000. This year, seven candidates exceeded that mark,” said Mollis. “We certified more than 25,000 signatures in all.” more »