Voter Turnout in RI

Voting is fundamental to our representative democracy and your civic participation is critical to Rhode Island's success as a state.

Voter turnout in Rhode Island General Elections has remained consistent for nearly 5 decades. All the while, more Rhode Island residents have taken steps to register to vote. Voter turnout for the general election in 2020 was the highest since 1970.

Consistent with national election trends, voters in Rhode Island turn out at higher rates during Presidential election years compared to state election years.

In every election, voter turnout rates vary for each city and town. For example, while 64% of Rhode Island's registered voters turned out for the 2020 general election, the range of voter turnout among Rhode Island cities and towns was 45.6% (Central Falls) to 79.2% (Jamestown).

Within each city and town, voter turnout rates also vary between voting precincts. In the 2020 General Election 55% of registered voters in Pawtucket turned out and the turnout rate for Pawtucket's 31 precincts ranged from 34% to 76%.

In the map below, compare voter turnout for the 2016 and 2020 general elections in Rhode Island. Click on the map to see the turnout rates for each City and Town as well as each precinct. Use a mouse or the +/- signs to zoom in to see precincts and zoom out to see voting for each city/town. Use the magnifying glass on the map on the left to search for an address.

As we see in the map above, Rhode Island's voters come from every corner of the state. But who are these voters?

Use the data visualization tool below to learn more about who these voters are by comparing voters in the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections across generations.

The pie charts compare the share of voters in each election. Overall, we see that the Baby Boomer and Generation X generations accounted for the largest share of voters in our state in each election.

By comparing the percent of voting of each generation in the bar chart, we can see that overall Baby Boomers voted at the highest rates as compared to all other generations in both the 2016 and 2020 General Elections. Use the selections on the left to see how the generations voted in different elections and in Cities/Towns or Precincts across Rhode Island. If an election did not occur in a particular year, for example there was no Presidential Preference Primary in 2018, no data will appear in that graphic for that election.

We know that voters in Rhode Island are spread across the state and across generational groups. How do these voters choose to cast their votes?

Current RI State law allows voters the options to vote in person at a local polling location, by mail ballot, or emergency mail ballot. A voter can apply for a mail ballot if the voter has a serious impairment of mobility, is confined to a nursing home or similar institution, is employed by or lives with someone employed by the military and is out of state, or will be unable to get to the polls on election day.

Prior to 2020, most Rhode Islanders who voted did so in person at their local polling place on the day of each election. Just nine percent of voters statewide voted by mail in the 2016 general election and seven percent voted by mail in 2018's general election. The 2020 elections occurred during a global pandemic. Mail Ballot applications were sent to every registered voter in Rhode Island for the Presidential Primary and General Elections. When given the option, many voters chose to vote by mail.

Voting by mail varies by generation. Older Rhode Islanders vote by mail at higher rates as do the youngest voters who may be attending college and choose to vote in Rhode Island's elections. Use the Generation selector on the bottom left to compare voting methods by generations.

Visit your Voter Information Center at  Vote.RI.gov  to

•  View/Update your Voter Record 

•  Register to Vote 

•  Read Ballots/Find Polling Places 

•  Find Your Elected Officials 

•  Learn about Voting by Mail