PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Early in-person voting in Rhode Island is running 88% ahead of the pace set in the 2022 midterm election, the secretary of state's office said.

As of 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 23, the end of the first 10 days of early voting, 45,969 voters had cast an early in-person ballot, according to Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore and the Rhode Island Department of State's elections division. During the same period in 2022, the most recent midterm election, 24,393 voters cast early ballots.

The figure also far exceeds early turnout in the state's primary, when 12,281 people voted during the first 10 days of early voting, the office said.

"As early voting becomes more well-known and more voters try it, many find it to be a fast, convenient way to cast their ballot," Amore said.

Election Day is Nov. 3. Mail ballots must be received by 8 p.m. that day, and the department said voters who plan to return ballots by mail should send them no later than Oct. 27, seven days before the election. Ballots can also be returned through a secure elections drop box, which stays open around the clock until 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, or at a polling place on Election Day.

The department publishes early voting, mail ballot and Election Day turnout figures on its Voter Turnout Tracker. Early voting locations and hours, sample ballots and Election Day polling places are listed at vote.ri.gov.

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency or political press release and published by The New England Signal. Why we use AI for stories like this one.