Free Republic

Oops! Apparently, the state of Rhode Island had 150,000 people incorrectly placed on their voter rolls and nobody noticed. During the November election, the state had a total of 781,770 registered voters. That’s even after Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea purged the rolls of almost 65,000 names. Then she declared another 30,000 voters as “inactive.” Still, there were 150,000 more names of “fake” voters.

PROVIDENCE -- Federal authorities filed criminal charges against Raymond E. Gallison Jr., Monday alleging the former House Finance Committee chairman robbed a dead man's estate, a disabled person's trust fund and from disadvantaged youth seeking help from the educational non-profit he worked for. His take, prosecutors say, more than $660,000. . . . . .That while working for the taxpayer-supported educational nonprofit called Alternative Education Programming (AEP), Gallison stole more than $64,575 earmarked to help disadvantaged youth attend the Community College of Rhode Island. . .

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Reports are coming in from several locations around the state of long lines at the polls, driven by high turnout that has overwhelmed the ballot-counting machines. "The volume is so high it's causing the backlog," said Tony Pires, the director of administration in Pawtucket. "The turnout is so large that one machine can't keep up with the volume." Pires added, "It doesn't seem to be a local issue. It seems to be state-wide." Lines of two hours have been reported at Summit Commons on Hillside Avenue in Providence. Pires also said voting machines were overwhelmed at the...

Donald Trump, according to a new poll, is down just three points on Hillary Clinton in the traditionally-reliable Democratic state of Rhode Island, a state Barack Obama won by 27 points in 2012. A poll released Wednesday from Boston’s Emerson College shows Clinton at 44 percent, Trump at 41 percent, Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson at 8.4 percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein at 3.5 percent. ... The college polled the presidential race in six New England states and New Jersey. The results show Clinton ahead in all seven states, though the contests are tight in Rhode Island, New...

Connecticut 28 (P) Closed Delaware 16 (WTA) Closed Maryland 38 (WTA) Closed Pennsylvania 71 (P) Closed Rhode Island 19 (P) Mixed (P) = Proportional, (WTA) = Winner Take All

Things aren’t nearly so competitive on the Republican side, with Donald Trump getting a majority of voters in each state. He’s strongest in Rhode Island where he gets 61% to 23% for John Kasich, and 13% for Ted Cruz. The numbers are very similar in Connecticut with Trump getting 59% to 25% for Kasich, and 13% for Cruz. Things are a little bit different in Pennsylvania where Trump’s share of the vote isn’t as high (51%) and Cruz edges out Kasich 25/22 for second place. None of these states are particularly amenable to the ‘Never Trump’ movement. Trump has the...

House Oversight Chairwoman Karen MacBeth announced Monday she's leaving the Democratic Party and becoming a Republican since she thinks the GOP is more aligned with serving the public interest of Rhode Islanders. "I think it's time that the average person like me stands up and says, 'Enough,' and while I've been a voice down here, I want to be a stronger voice," she said. "And I want to be a stronger voice for the people, and if I can do this, then there's other people out there that can do it, too, because this is the only way we're going...