Election Day

This afternoon, politicians and voters alike mingled in front of the Elmwood Community Center — which State Rep. Grace Diaz (D-Providence) described as “the most iconic polling place” in House District 11.

“Most Rhode Islanders are Democrats, and today they are just voting Democrat,” Diaz said. She added that she is “confident” that the Democrats selected in the September primary will be elected to their respective offices.

But today’s crowd at the community center spanned political parties. Diego Arene Morley ’16 P’28, an independent candidate in the race to represent Ward 9 on the City Council, is running to challenge current councilmember Juan Pichardo.

Arene Morley and other members of his team manned a table with refreshments outside the center, chatting with voters and handing out stickers.

His campaign has knocked on 3,000 doors, Arene Morley said. “We’ve run out of doors.”

He referred to the community center as “the last door.”

“Some people are undecided and walking in, but that’s not the majority,” he said. “The work’s already done.”

Rania Johnson, who worked on Arene Morley’s campaign, also spent the afternoon canvassing outside the community center.

Johnson told The Herald that despite supporting an independent, she mostly voted “Democrat, Democrat, Democrat.” She also voted “yes” on Providence’s Question 7, a proposed divestment ordinance.

“We spend so much money on wars, and there’s so many resources that people need here,” she said. “Do what you have to do with the people you have in your community.”

Carmen Castillo — who represented Ward 9 from 2012 to 2023 and narrowly lost to Pichardo in September’s Democratic primary while trying to retake the seat — supported Arene Morley. Similarly to Johnson, she expressed a belief in community solidarity.

“We need to get out and say, ‘Yes, I’m here for you. We can do something together,’” she said.

In front of Saint Elizabeth’s Place — an affordable senior living facility — on the South Side of Providence, Democratic nominee David Morales MPA’19 supporters greeted voters with handouts.

King Camilo, a current law student at Roger Williams University, described Morales as “the person that we need in office to help the community get back together.”

“He’s not afraid to make changes,” Camilo said. While people can get comfortable with the status quo, Camilo said he believes that “we do need change, and we need an administration that hears the people out.”

His “new friend” Theophilus Macijeski — a volunteer with Providence for Palestine — came out to spread support for Question 7, which would divest funding from countries found to have committed severe human rights violations.

“I think it is the morally defining issue of our time to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being funneled into genocide,” Macijeski said. He added that he had personally knocked about 1,000 doors in support of the ordinance, and said he had only been met with negative responses four times.

Ana Rodriguez said she had to look up the definition of divest to determine her vote on Question 7, and found it a “tough question” that gave her nightmares. She expressed frustration that this money is directed to “kill people” instead of assisting people who need help.

Rodriguez, who voted for Morales, noted that she had voted for Smiley in the past, but was upset by what she saw as his inaction on housing costs.

As costs skyrocket, “how can you not want to assist us?” she asked.

For voters like Anne O’Hara and Nicholas Melone, this election is critically important.

“There's a lot going on in the world,” Melone said. “I know where I stand, which is getting candidates who are going to put up a fight against (the Trump) administration and also put up a fight for people that are struggling, and there's a lot of people that are struggling right now.” Melone said he cast his ballot for Morales in both the primary and general election.

The housing affordability crisis is what brought O’Hara to the polls. O’Hara voted for the first time in a primary election this September to elect David Morales as the Democratic nominee, and came out to vote for him again today.

“I feel like electing a democratic socialist is going to be kind of huge for us,” she said, adding that after watching Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City, she has high hopes for what could happen in Providence with Morales as mayor.

“With what's going on in the world right now, people should definitely be voting,” she said. “Now more than ever. I think people say that every year, but it just gets worse.”

Adit Sabnis GS, who is the communications chair for AFT Local 6515 and organizer with Providence for Palestine, was outside the polls getting the word out about ballot measure 7.

“Question 7 is based on a very simple principle: The idea (is) that the money that we pay as taxpayers should be invested in our communities, in our schools, in our workers, and not invested in companies that promote genocide occupation and apartheid abroad,” Sabnis said. In his opinion, the contentiousness over the ballot measure seems overblown, adding that the support has been "overwhelmingly positive.” “Voting yes on number 7 with divestment was an easy choice,” Melone added. “Voting for a proposition that divests from genocide is an easy choice, and I know people are maybe hard to persuade on that, but it feels like a base minimum thing to do. So coming out feels really critical to me and important.” O’Hara also voted yes on ballot measure 7.

More than 112,000 Rhode Islanders cast their ballots early for today’s election, an increase of 56% from the 2022 midterms, when about 72,000 residents voted in-person before Election Day, according to preliminary state data. Generally, Democrats vote earlier more often than Republicans.

Early voting in both midterm years trails behind early voting in the 2020 and 2024 general elections, when about 150,000 and 172,000 residents cast their ballots in-person in advance of the election, respectively.

After casting her vote, Democratic nominee for governor Helena Foulkes said to WPRI-12 that she feels “incredibly excited” and is spending the day at the polls meeting voters. She added that if she wins, she feels a “deep sense of responsibility.”

Outside the polls, Independent candidate Ken Block urged people to vote, noting the importance of the race for governor. He added that voters have a choice this election to continue “doing things the way we’ve done them in the past” or opt for change. “I represent a big change for how our state can be run,” said Block.

Republican nominee for governor Aaron Guckian went to the polls with his family, voting at his alma mater East Greenwich High School. “It’s what Rhode Island and America is all about,” Guckian said, adding that he’s glad to stand up for the Republican Party.

More than 100 volunteers with the Providence for Palestine Coalition were stationed outside polling places across the city to encourage voters to support Question 7, a ballot initiative that would divest city funds from countries that are committing severe human rights violations, according to Zack Kliger ’20.5, an organizer for Jewish Voice for Peace Rhode Island and the Providence for Palestine coalition.

The coalition spent the past year collecting signatures to get the measure on the ballot, Kliger said. In total, organizers collected over 10,000 signatures.

The campaign has given Providence residents “a direct way they can make an impact and take a stand for Palestinians,” Kliger said. Rather than lobbying elected officials, he described the ballot initiative as “a historic opportunity” for residents to exercise direct democracy and influence how the city invests its funds.

Cindy Capra ’78 P’14 P’16, a volunteer with Common Cause’s nonpartisan election-protection initiative, visited polling places across Providence Tuesday morning to ensure “accessibility.”

Capra, who described herself as a “roving” site volunteer, said she had visited seven polling locations since 7 a.m. At the polling locations, she checked whether “signage (was) visible from the street” and ensuring “everybody can make their way in and not have any obstacles or barriers.”

“My role is not to interact with voters unless they have questions about the process,” she said.

Incumbent Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, who is running for reelection, has low public favorability ratings, according to the latest polling data from the University of New Hampshire. Yet she still comes in about 15 percentage points above her Republican opponent John Loughlin in the poll.

The former Providence City Council president has held the lieutenant governorship for the past five years. Among likely voters in the recent poll, 40% had an unfavorable opinion of Matos, compared to 27% who had a favorable opinion and 24% who were neutral. Only 9% did not know enough about her to say.



Matos’s established reputation offers a stark contrast to Loughlin’s — 43% of polled likely voters said they were not sure of how favorably they viewed the Republican.

Matos became embroiled in controversy in 2023 when forged voter signatures were found on several of her campaign nomination forms. She has denied involvement in the scheme and was not criminally charged.

Voters began casting ballots Tuesday morning at Hope High School, where state Rep. Edith Ajello (D-Providence) said she was “surprised” by the number of people arriving despite high early-voting numbers. Ajello said she “routinely” visits polling places on Election Day to check in with election workers.

Max Burger, a polling supervisor, said “about 112” voters had come through by around 10 a.m.

Ajello, who is running unopposed in Tuesday’s election, said “more than 200” people had voted at the polling location by the time she stopped by. About 500 people voted there during the September primary, she said.

Local Providence voters Karolye Cunha and Fernando Cunha came to the polls to vote together. Karolye Cunha said Tuesday marked her 83rd birthday and her 60th year voting. For Karolye Cunha, voting was a longstanding family tradition, with her mother and grandmother both involved in the women’s suffrage movement.

“I would never not vote,” she said. “It’s a very serious obligation,” she added.

Dmitri Hubenka arrived at Hope with his rescue dog, Jinx. Hubenka moved to Providence from Detroit five years ago, said he is considering “leav(ing) the country depending on how this goes.”

Hubenka previously worked in the solar industry, but said his business “lost about 75 percent of its revenue overnight, when Trump repealed the income tax credits for renewables (and) electric vehicles,” he said.

He now works as a welder, earning about a quarter of what he previously made, he said.

The White House did not immediately respond to The Herald’s response for comment.

For Joy Flomo, a freshman at the University of Rhode Island studying political science and studio art, Tuesday marked her first time voting.

Flomo said healthcare and affordable housing were among the issues most important to her, and called for “more emphasis on young voters going out to vote.” “We’re the next generation, so we have to make a stand and be the change that we want to see,” she said.

“There’s a lot of changes with (the) economy, and the state’s already on a big swing as far as changing out a lot of the people that were already incumbents,” she said. “With this election, I feel like people are realizing the change and they want to be a part of the change.”

Arden Reynolds ’23 and Harry Pershing ’20, who arrived together to vote, both said they voted for “Democrats down the ballot.”

Reynolds said that she thinks this is “a historic election in Rhode Island.” She added that the questions about affordable housing “feel close to home” and she was happy to see several measures about housing affordability on the ballot.

Pershing said he “felt extremely excited to vote yes on question seven,” which he believes considers “how to protect pensioners while still aligning our values with fiscal spending.”

Elizabeth Rounds often comes to Vargan Gregorian school to vote since she moved to Providence in 2018. She said she voted for the Democratic candidates, including State Rep. David Morales MPA’19, who she had also voted for in the primaries.

Rounds voted no for two measures, including the statewide Historical Center and Cultural Grants Bond and question seven on the Providence ballot, adding that she is the only person she knows who voted no on any measure.

“Rhode Island has enough problems with the budget,” she said. “I don’t think divestment is manageable because I think they should be separated, politics and investment.”

Democratic candidates comfortably lead their Republican and independent opponents in the closely-followed races for governor, lieutenant governor and senate, according to the latest data from the University of New Hampshire.

The poll, released on Sunday, suggests former CVS Pharmacy president Helena Foulkes (D) will cruise to the governorship. About 55% of likely voters said they would likely vote or had voted for her, compared to 34% for independent Ken Block and 8% for Republican Aaron Guckian.

The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, incumbent Sabina Matos, is polling 15-points above her Republican opponent, John Loughlin. And incumbent U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D) won the support of a sizable portion of respondents, with 63% saying they would vote for him compared to 32% for his opponent Raymond McKay.

Johnson told The Herald that she’s been staffing election days since she was a teenager. She said that she has been a warden at Hope High School for about six or seven years.

“Today we're just looking forward to having a busy day and a bunch of people coming in and voting,” she said.

After the polling location officially opened, The Herald also spoke to voters.

“Recently, I was living abroad for five years, and it took a lot of work to be able to vote in local and federal elections,” said Emily Dixon. “Now, I live right across the street, so I was just excited that it was so much easier to be in person in the U.S.”

Dixon said that she votes “on party lines” for the Democratic party. She added that she is particularly excited to vote for State Rep. David Morales MPA’19, the Democratic nominee for mayor.

Kyle Smith said that he came to vote to fulfill his “civic impact” and encouraged youth to make their voices heard.

While he mostly votes Democrat, he emphasized the importance of “actually looking into all the candidates” and doing more research.

Both Dixon and Smith expressed particular enthusiasm to vote “yes” on Question 7, which would mandate Providence’s divestment from countries committing severe human rights violations.