Statement Regarding Status of 55 Votes Cast On ExpressVote Machines With Inaccurate September 13th Spanish Ballot Information Displayed On Touch Screen

CRANSTON, R.I. – The following statement can be attributed to Robert Rapoza, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Board of Elections:

“On Wednesday, August 31st, the Board of Elections was made aware of errors on Spanish language ballots displayed on newly deployed ExpressVote ballot creation machines in the communities of Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket. The ExpressVote machines are being utilized in these communities for early voting.

Candidate names in the Democratic contests of Mayor of Providence, Lt. Governor, and the Republican contests of Representative in Congress District 1 and General Treasurer were displayed incorrectly.

This issue impacted 55 voters who cast their ballots using ExpressVote machines in these four communities.

While the information on the ExpressVote Spanish language ballot touchscreen display may have been inaccurate, the physical ballot created by the system contained the correct names of all 2022 candidates. Voters had the opportunity to review this physical ballot to ensure that it reflected their intended votes before placing their ballot into a DS2000 optical ballot scanner.

Physical ballots were created by ExpressVote machines, voters had the opportunity to check the accuracy of their votes on these physical ballots, and voters submitted their ballots into DS2000 optical ballot scanners. The Board of Elections therefore considers these 55 votes as cast.

Finally, Spanish language ballots displayed on all ExpressVote machines have been corrected to reflect the accurate candidate names in all races. Rhode Island voters can have full confidence casting their ballots utilizing ExpressVote machines.”