Ocean State Today

On September 18, Common Cause Rhode Island sent a letter to Ken McGill, City Registrar for the City of Pawtucket, and the Pawtucket Board of Canvassers warning them about violations of the Voting Rights Act’s language access requirements during the September 10 primary election.

On September 10, Common Cause Rhode Island deployed several dozen volunteers statewide as part of its election protection program. Volunteers in Pawtucket documented numerous violations of the city’s consent order, an agreement to abide by the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act and provide signage in Spanish about:

- What Voter ID is needed,

- The right to cast a provisional ballot,

- Basic voting rules and other requirements, and

- The availability of a bilingual voter hotline

In May 2024, the City of Pawtucket entered an official agreement with the United States Department of Justice for failing to abide by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. The agreement requires the city to provide legally-required language access to Spanish-language voters. The consent decree also covered violations of Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act, which requires local election officials to provide access to provisional ballots.

“Despite being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice, the City of Pawtucket failed its voters during the recent primary election,” said John Marion, Executive Director of Common Cause Rhode Island. “Pawtucket must immediately investigate the problems Common Cause Rhode Island uncovered and issue a report so that immediate steps are taken to be ready for the November general election.” Marion continued, “The Rhode Island Board of Elections needs to provide necessary oversight of Pawtucket elections, and the U.S. Attorney’s office needs to provide additional federal observers, to make sure voters in Pawtucket are able to exercise their rights in the upcoming election.”

The letter was also sent to U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Zachary A. Cuhna, Chairwoman of the Rhode Island Board of Elections Jennifer L. Johnson, and Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore.

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