R.I. voters almost evenly split on whether to hold a constitutional convention, new poll finds

Two polls show a significant number of Rhode Islanders would vote yes on a ballot question asking if the state should hold a constitution the convention, but a large chunk of undecided voters suggests many people may not fully understand what the ballot question entails and could even skip the question. (Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

Voters appear split on a ballot question asking if the state should hold a constitutional convention, according to a new poll released just after a new digital ad campaign launched urging them to reject it.

A coalition urging Rhode Islanders to vote no on Question 1 posted its first ad on YouTube on Sept. 20 in a $30,000 digital ad blitz running up to the Nov. 5 election meant to showcase the potential danger a convention can bring to civil liberties and reproductive rights.

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A MassINC Polling Group survey, conducted for Rhode Island Current, found that 36% of likely voters say they would vote for a constitutional convention; 33% would reject the ballot measure while 32% were undecided on which way they’ll go during the Nov. 5 general election. The poll has a margin of error of 3.9%. 

Results mostly mirror a poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released Sept. 19, which found 39% of respondents say they plan to approve a convention, while 28% plan to reject it.

“It’s really evenly split,” Richard Parr, senior research director for MassINC, said in an interview Monday. “This really shows how up in the air people are about this.”

The poll, made possible through a grant from the Knight Elections Hub, surveyed 800 likely Rhode Island voters through telephone interviews and text messages between Sept. 12 and 18. 

(Source: Rhode Island Current poll of 800 likely voters in the November election conducted by The MassINC Polling Group Sept. 12-18, 2024, and made possible by a grant from the Knight Election Hub.)

Though a plurality of voters in both polls have indicated their support for the convention, the large chunk of undecided voters suggests many people may not fully understand what the ballot question entails.

Rhode Island’s convention question goes on the ballot in years ending in the number four, but voters rejected ballot questions seeking to convene one in 1994, 2004 and 2014. The Rhode Island General Assembly may also propose constitutional amendments during any election year. 

Should a majority of Rhode Islanders want to move ahead with a convention, the state would have to set up a special election to select 75 convention delegates to represent each district in the House of Representatives. Delegates would then gather, debate, negotiate and approve a set of amendments that would appear on the ballot for the 2026 general election.

The last convention in 1986 led to the establishment of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission, restoration of felons voting rights, and clarification of Rhode Islanders’ rights to the shoreline but also produced a “right to life” amendment that was ultimately defeated at the ballot box.

“What tends to happen at the end of the day, people who feel uninformed tend to default to a no,” Parr said. “It might be different in a constitutional convention, but given that the numbers are so close — I suspect a lot of people will skip the question.”

MassINC’s survey results reflect the ongoing debate surrounding Question 1, with proponents touting a constitutional convention as a way to reform Rhode Island’s government and opponents warning it could strip back civil liberties.

Of the pro-convention voters polled by MassINC, 82% said that the world has changed much since the last convention in 1986 and that it’s time for an update. A little more than 42% said it was necessary because “the legislature can’t be depended on to enact important changes.” 

MassINC’s poll allowed those surveyed to select multiple options on why they would support or oppose a constitutional convention, which is why response rates go beyond 100%.

Of those who said they opposed the ballot measure in the MassINC poll, 63% said they were concerned about out-of-state special interest groups influencing changes to the state’s constitution. Such a concern has been trumpeted by the Rhode Island Citizens for Responsible Government, a coalition of 37 labor and civil liberties organizations behind the ad campaign featuring social media and video ads highlighting “the threat that a Constitutional Convention will pose to civil rights,” according to its announcement Friday.

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The ad, produced by East Greenwich-based Checkmate Consulting Group, features an auctioneer selling Rhode Island’s Constitution before a room of wealthy bidders smoking cigars and pouring champagne. It’s actually the same ad the coalition aired in the leadup to the 2014 election — just with updated citations.

Checkmate co-founder Brad Dufault told Rhode Island Current Monday that footage was re-used in order to save on production costs, which will instead go toward voter education.

“The threats that a constitutional convention poses have not changed all that much since 2014. Reproductive rights, women’s health and family planning, LGBTQ+ rights, worker rights, and more may all come under attack from big-money special interests, as we’ve seen in other states and as is highlighted in our ads,” he said.

“A Constitutional Convention will jeopardize our democratic process and can potentially sway outcomes away from the will of the people and towards narrow ideological agendas,” coalition chairperson Vimala Phongsavanh, senior external affairs director for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, said in a statement

Coalition members have been especially vocal about the potential for the convention to strip away the state’s protections on reproductive rights — something 45% of those polled also cited in their opposition to the ballot measure.

About 8% of convention proponents polled by MassINC said “civil liberties and abortion rights should have some restrictions.” 

Opponents of a convention have also cited high costs as a reason to reject Question 1 — something 15% of respondents cited in the poll. Cost estimates for the convention range between $2.6 million and $4.6 million, which includes an estimated $1.3 million toward a special election to select the 75 convention delegates.