PROVIDENCE, RI -- District 10 voters are another step closer today to knowing who will fill the late Tom Slater's Providence House seat.
Secretary of State Mollis picked numbered balls from an old-fashioned, crank-operated lottery machine to the order in which the candidates will appear on the Oct. 6 Democratic primary ballot. Mollis invited the public to attend the lottery at his Providence office.
“I campaigned for this office on a pledge to make government more transparent. There is nothing that will give voters more faith in the fairness of their elections than the opportunity to see for themselves how the process unfolds,” said Mollis.
As the endorsed Democratic candidate, Slater’s son Scott will appear first on ballot. He will be followed by Rafael A. Colon Jr., John M. Kelly, Ana B. Quezada, Jenny L. Jourdain, Raymond A. Tomasso and Ramon A. Perez.
In addition to determining the order in which the seven Democratic candidates will appear on the primary ballot, Mollis held two other lotteries.
Republican candidate Maurice Green will appear first on the November ballot, followed by the winner of the Democratic primary and the three independent candidates. And among the independent candidates, Wilbur W. Jennings Jr. will appear first, followed by Maryelyn Alba-Acevedo and John P. Tomasso.
State law gives Mollis the authority to set the calendar and hold lotteries to determine ballot placement for special primary elections and special elections under certain circumstances. Rep. Slater’s death last month with more than half his term remaining is one of the triggers in the law.
Mollis says voters should keep in mind two other important milestones in the election calendar. Oct. 10 is the deadline for registering to vote in the Nov. 10 election. Mail ballots for the election must be requested by Oct. 20.
In order to register to vote, you must be at least 18 years old, be a U.S. citizen and a resident of House District 10, which stretches from the edges of the Armory District to Roger Williams Park on the Cranston line.
The last time a death in the General Assembly required a special election was in 2008, when then state Rep. Roger Picard was elected to fill the late Roger Badeau's state Senate seat (District 20 - Woonsocket, Cumberland).