PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Last month's Rhode Island presidential primary saw anemic turnout across the state. And the apathy extended to state legislatures.
Target 12 examined the voting records of members of the General Assembly and found that 27 Democrats, three Republicans and one independent did not vote on April 2nd.
In the RI House of Representatives, 21 of the 75 active members did not vote.
The group includes House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, as well as Democratic state representatives David Bennett, Camille Vera Wilkinson, Patricia Serpa, Robert Craven and Kathleen Fogerty. , and several people in leadership roles, including Marvin Abney, all of whom serve as committee chairs.
State Reps. Raymond Hull, Mary Messier, and John Edwards, who hold Democratic leadership positions outside the committee, also did not vote.
On the Senate side, 10 of the 38 members did not vote, including Deputy Majority Leader John Burke and new state Sen. Jake Bisaillon, who was first elected in a special election last year.
John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said he was surprised that 28% of the General Assembly did not vote.
“Who cares most about party primaries in Rhode Island? It's going to be, in part, the people who were elected in party primaries,” he said.
In fact, some of their colleagues in the Senate actually participated in the vote. Sandra Cano, Ryan Pearson, and Sherry Roberts all ran in the primary as convention delegates.
Target 12 contacted all 31 members of Congress who did not vote. Of the 12 people who responded, the majority attributed their missed vote to illness, family emergencies, or work or legislative obligations.
“It wasn't a decision that I didn't vote. I was going to vote like I always did,” said Chippendale, a Foster Republican. “Due to personal obligations, I had to fly to Boston well before the polls opened, and legislative duties in Providence prevented me from being at the polls 10 minutes before polls closed. I had intended to vote in both Boston and the state legislature, but I was in Boston much longer than expected.
Others echoed that sentiment, including Bisaillon, who told Public's Radio that week that he planned to support President Biden in his vote.
Bisaillon, D-Providence, said he made a conscious decision to remain in the state House rather than vote after getting caught up in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
“It became clear to me that being in the presence of Rhode Islanders testifying every day about the need for criminal justice reform was more important to me than voting for President Biden in a largely uncontested primary.” '' he said. .
State Rep. Brianna Henrys said she missed voting because she misplaced her ID, and by the time she realized it was too late to get a provisional ballot. Henrys, an East Providence Democrat, said she planned to vote unopposed because “she is not satisfied with her current options.”
“But at the end of the day, it was just life and bad planning happening,” Henrys said. “Exercising your right to vote has always been and always will be important, and we are ready to cast provisional ballots should that happen again.”
Chippendale similarly said his experience last month “proves that early voting can be a good tool when scheduling is an issue.”
“I have never voted early, but in the future if I anticipate a packed schedule, I will consider voting early to avoid a repeat of what I experienced this spring,” he said. .
No one answered that they did not want to vote. Abney was among those who argued that everyone who can vote should participate in the democratic process. The House Finance Committee chairman said he was absent from the primary due to legislative obligations.
“I was planning on voting when I got back to Newport,” Abney said. “However, because of the committees and subcommittees, we were not able to return to our local polling places before adjournment.”
However, some argued that elected officials should not be considered to have any special voting responsibilities.
State Rep. Leonella Felix, D-Pawtucket, said, “We owe it to our elected officials to participate even more because we, like everyone else, have a duty and a responsibility to prevent participation. “I don't think so,” he said, adding that he was prepared to die. With my family on election day.
“Election Day should be a holiday, moved to a weekend, or both, to encourage more participation,” he added.
State Rep. John Brien said he skipped the vote because he is an independent. (He is the only independent in both chambers.) To vote in the primary, you technically have to temporarily register as a Democrat or Republican.
“I haven’t voted in a primary since I became an independent in 2016,” Brien said. He added that he supports legislation that would eliminate the requirement for independents to affiliate with a political party when voting in Rhode Island's primary elections.
In an election in which Biden and former President Trump had already fielded candidates from each party, turnout for the state House of Representatives remained far higher than for Rhode Island as a whole, as only 5% of registered voters cast ballots.
Elsewhere in government, all four members of the state's congressional delegation voted, and all but one of the state's five rank-and-file employees also voted. The exception was RI Attorney General Peter Neronha, who attributed this to an unexpected family health issue.
“My plan was just bad,” Neronha said.
Members who did not vote in the primary:
- Congressman Marvin Abney
- Congressman Jose Batista
- Congressman David Bennett
- Congressman Nathan Beer
- Congressman John Brien
- Congressman Michael Chippendale
- Congressman Robert Craven
- Congresswoman Cherry Cruz
- Congressman John Edwards
- Rep. Leonella Felix
- Rep. Deborah Ferrera
- Congresswoman Kathleen Fogarty
- Congresswoman Brianna Henrys
- Congressman Raymond Hull
- Congressman John Lombardi
- Congresswoman Mary Messier
- Congressman Thomas Nollette
- Rep. Ramon Perez
- Congressman Enrique Sanchez
- Rep. Patricia Serpa
- Congresswoman Camille Vera Wilkinson
Senators who did not vote in the primary:
- Senator Jacob Bisaillon
- senator robert bullitt
- senator john burke
- Senator Frank Ciccone
- senator anthony deluca
- Senator Victoria Gu
- senator frank lombardi
- Senator Thomas Paolino
- Senator Leonidas Laptakis
- Senator David Tikoian
Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter at 12 News.connect with him on Twitter And also on Facebook.
Ted Nessi (tnesi@wpri.com) is an investigative reporter at Target 12 and politics/business editor at 12 News. He is a co-host on his Newsmakers and writes his Nesi's Notes on Saturdays.Connect with him at twitter, thread and facebook.
