Signs in English and Spanish alert voters how to cast their ballots at St. Theresa’s Church in Pawtucket. The polling site was one of six precincts where Common Cause Rhode Island monitors noted inadequate dual-language materials for voters during the Sept. 10 primary. Spanish translations were mandated by a consent agreement between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
PAWTUCKET — Behind a foldable table inside the Portuguese Social Club after 11 a.m. Tuesday, a trio shuffled papers and sipped coffee as half a dozen voters filled out their ballots.
They were not volunteers. The team consisting of two women and one man were federal election monitors tasked with ensuring Pawtucket officials follow state and national voting rights laws on the day of the general election.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that it would deploy election monitors in 86 jurisdictions across 27 states on Election Day, including three Rhode Island cities: Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket.
The trio is part of an overall group of three teams moving about the state, said DOJ spokesperson Jim Martin. Additional observers are monitoring Pawtucket to ensure election officials follow a consent agreement reached between the city and federal government in May.
The agreement was meant to resolve allegations that city election officials failed to provide access to provisional ballots for Spanish-speaking voters. Pawtucket officials have admitted no fault in the dispute. At the time, Mayor Donald Grebien said the deal was reached “to avoid protracted and expensive litigation.”
The city faced more allegations after the September primary when Common Cause Rhode Island volunteers reportedly found six of Pawtucket’s 28 precincts missing Spanish-language signs. All precincts were supposed to have signs with information 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.
The Portuguese Social Club was among the six precincts that allegedly failed to follow the consent order. The presence of the three election monitors on Tuesday morning did not appear to bother precinct warden Josh Case.
Case told Rhode Island Current that all English language posters inside and around the social club have Spanish duplicates. He also pointed to three Spanish-language volunteers, along with another who spoke Portuguese as well.
“We’ve got everything we need now,” Case said.
Language accessibility issues were also reported at St. Theresa’s Church on Newport Avenue during the September primary. On Tuesday morning, the wall by the church precinct’s entrance was filled with signs in English and Spanish informing voters how to cast their ballots — along with a trilingual greeting from volunteer Virginia Sanchez, who speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Precinct warden Donna Foster told Rhode Island Current she contacted Pawtucket’s Board of Canvassers well ahead of polls opening Tuesday to ensure the church basement was under compliance.
“And they did, they came in and checked everything” she said. “We want to make sure we do it right.”
As of 3 p.m., 9,218 Pawtucket voters had turned out to the polls in person for Election Day — representing just over 53% of the 17,241 total ballots cast, which includes mail and early in-person voting. The city has 43,140 active registered voters.
Common Cause Rhode Island Executive Director John Marion said he was not aware of any voter access issues in Pawtucket, Providence, or Woonsocket. Woonsocket Board of Canvassers Manager Giana Savastano told Rhode Island that she hasn’t noticed anything “out of left field.”
“But I know I shouldn’t say that while the night is still young,” Savastano said.
Nearly 5,500 Woonsocket residents had cast ballots in person at the city’s polls Tuesday.
A total of 9,474 ballots were cast in Woonsocket, including early voters and submitted mail ballots.
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