Turnout cracks 5% as Rhode Island primary voters back Biden and Trump

Voters cast ballots in the gymnasium at Francis School in East Providence on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)

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Rhode Island’s lackluster presidential contest fizzled to a close Tuesday, with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump declared winners by the Associated Press 10 minutes after polls closed.

Both Biden and Trump have already clinched their party nominations unofficially based on delegate counts from prior states primaries and conventions. The nominations will be made official at national party conventions this summer.

Results published by the Rhode Island Board of Elections remain preliminary and unofficial, with mail ballots still being counted Tuesday night. As of 9:30 p.m. with 98% of precincts reporting, the 38,000 votes cast represented just over 5% of the state’s registered voters. That is less than one-third of the turnout that characterized the 2020 presidential primary, and one-fifth the participation in the 2016 primary race.

Biden drew support from more than 80% of voters, while just shy of 15% voted “uncommitted” on the Democratic ballot, according to preliminary unofficial results. The symbolic protest vote gained traction in states nationwide as a means of protesting Biden, including among pro-Palestine supporters who have criticized Biden’s decision to send aid to Israel in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In Rhode Island, Aaron Regunburg, who competed in the 2023 Democratic special primary for the 1st Congressional District, along with Sen. Sam Bell and Providence City Councilman Miguel Sanchez also said they voted “uncommitted,” according to social media posts.

Other high-ranking state and federal officials, including U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos and General Treasurer James Diossa shared public support for Biden on X.

Meanwhile, Trump led with 84% of the vote as of 9:30 p.m. followed by Nikki Haley, who dropped out of the race after ballots were finalized. Haley hovered just above 10% support among those who voted on the state’s Republican ballot, a critical threshold because under state party rules, any candidate who wins at least 10% of votes will be awarded delegates.

Editor-in-chief Janine L. Weisman contributed to this story.

Updated to include results as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

This story was published earlier by the Rhode Island Current, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix.

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