Here is a summary of top news stories from the 2020 election in Rhode Island:
- Rhode Island delivered four electoral votes for Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the presidential election on Tuesday. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, all New England states were declared for Biden except Maine, although Biden has been projected as the winner there by several media outlets.
- Rhode Island's three Congressional representatives who were all running for re-election on Tuesday won their races. Senator Jack Reed and Representatives David Cicilline and Jim Langevin all released statements acknowledging their wins. The Democratic trio have a combined 51 years of experience representing Rhode Island on Capitol Hill.
- Rhode Island House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello appears to be losing his seat in the General Assembly and has conceded to his challenger. Republican challenger Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung leads Democrat Mattiello by about a thousand votes in the Cranston district race on Wednesday morning. But mail-ballot and other early votes had not been counted, and Fenton-Fung did not declare victory last night.
- Mayoral races - In the race for Warwick mayor, The Providence Journal reports challenger Frank Picozzi defeated incumbent Joe Solomon after the final counts came in around 1 a.m. Wednesday. In the race for mayor in Woonsocket, the Projo reports incumbent Lisa Baldelli-Hunt held off a challenge from City Councilor Jon Brien. In the race for Central Falls mayor, City Councilor Maria Rivera has declared victory. And in Cranston, the race for mayor has not been called, but city council member Ken Hopkins was ahead.
- Rhode Island voters are shortening the state's official name. The phrase "Providence Plantations" will be removed as a result of the passage of Question 1, which was rejected one decade ago. About 53 percent of the vote on the constitutional amendment wanted the name change, according to Tuesday's unofficial results. The push for the removal of the word "Plantations" was racially motivated.
- Rhode Island has set a new voter turnout record. As of 7 p.m. last night, the RI Secretary of State's Office reported about 482,000 ballots had been cast. That surpasses the previous record set in 2008, when about 475,000 Rhode Islanders voted. This year's large turnout was driven by early voting and mail ballots. The state Board of Elections is predicting well over a half-million votes when the final number is settled.
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