(Intro)

Hello Rhode Island. Before you vote, you have got to be registered. If you're not sure if you're registered already, you can check using the link in the description. Super easy. But if you're not registered yet, or if you have moved or changed your name since the last time you voted, you will need to fill out a registration form. There's a link to the form down in the description, and you can print it out and mail it to your county Board of Canvassers by October 9th if you want to be registered in time for the November presidential election. If you miss that deadline, you can go to your Board of Canvassers office on election day and register, but you'll only be allowed to vote for the presidential race, not any of the other races on your ballot. A list of Board of Canvassers locations is in the description.

OK, so you registered registered, great. Now you get to vote. In most cases, you're going to be voting in person on November 8th in Rhode Island, unless you'll be out of town on election day, or have an illness or disability, or more generally, won't be able to get to the polls on election day. If any of those situations do apply to you, you should use the form in the link below to apply for a mail in ballot. If you mail your application in by October 18th, you'll get your ballot in the mail, and all you have to do is fill it out at your own pace and mail it back so that it gets to the State Board of Elections by November 8th.

For the rest of you, you'll need to head to the polls on November 8th. You can look up where you gotta go to vote using the link in the description. The hours that polls are open vary from town to town, but that same link where you look up your polling location will tell you exactly when it's open. You'll need to bring a valid photo ID with you, like a Rhode Island driver's license, state ID, passport, student ID, or military ID. If you don't have one of these, you can get a free voter ID by going to the Secretary of State's office. There is a link to the location and hours below. It's just one office. You don't have a very big state.

If you want to see everything that's going to be on the ballot ahead of time, you can go to the same website you used to look up your polling place to find your sample ballot. This gives you a chance to research the candidates and issues in your local elections ahead of time, but don't panic if you see, like, 25 judges on there. You don't have to vote for every single item on the ballot for it to be counted. If you want to, you can even print out a sample ballot, fill it out, and bring it to the polls with you so you remember how you want to vote. All the links you need to check your registration, and polling location, and get your sample ballot will be down in the description. Thank you for voting.