Fewer polling places opening for Tuesday’s presidential primary

Before you head out to the polls on Tuesday, make sure you double check where your polling place is.

The Rhode Island Board of Elections is only opening 144 out of its 419 polls for Tuesday’s Rhode Island Primary.

It is not unusual for less polling places to be open for presidential primaries since typically turnout is much lower than the November election. Though, this year there will be 33 fewer locations open than there were for the 2008 primary.

One local advocacy group wants to make sure that people know where to vote. The Executive Director of Common Cause Rhode Island, John Marion, tells ABC 6 News they don’t think the information has been made public enough so far.

"I think it’s been inadequate the public information about that,” said Marion. "My fear is that people wake up on Tuesday morning and they show up where they think they are voting and then they realize that’s not where they are going to vote and they get confused and they say I may as well not vote. I’ll just go to work or school."

To combat the fewer number of locations board of elections staff tell ABC 6 News they have hired more poll workers and will set up more physical voting booths.

"If people actually know where to go to vote and they get out and they stay and do the vote they can make a difference in the course of our country and there’s nothing more important than the right to vote,” said Ann Gooding the Director of Communications for the Rhode Island Democratic Party.

That’s a sentiment both parties can agree on. We spoke with GOP Party Chair, Brandon Bell, from the Republican National Convention Spring Meeting in Florida.

"We see it as absolutely crucial because each delegate is going to count,” said Brandon Bell.

You can find your polling place at sos.ri.gov/vic.

(C) WLNE 2016