Dist. 42 headed toward recount

Johnston voters largely elected to keep incumbent Democrats in office this year, but the race for Rep. Stephen Ucci’s vacant Dist. 42 seat – representing Johnston and Cranston – is coming down to the wire.

Edward Cardillo Jr., a Democrat who received Ucci’s endorsement for the position, trailed Republican Frank Ricci significantly after just in-person Election Day votes were counted on Tuesday night. Ricci picked up 1,858 votes to Cardillo’s 1,151.

Cardillo more than made up the deficit once mail ballots were processed, though. He outpaced Ricci by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, winning 1,420 votes to his opponent’s 554. Early in-person voting, however, proved an unexpected boon for Ricci. While those ballots have largely favored Democrats across the country, Ricci earned a slight edge, 924-857.

The final count, as of Thursday afternoon, has Cardillo leading Ricci by only 92 votes, 3,428 to 3,336. His advantage stands at only 1.4 percent.

Rhode Island election laws state that a candidate can request a recount if they trail by less than 2 percent or 200 votes in any race where fewer than 20,000 people have voted. Ricci told the Sun Rise Thursday morning that the Rhode Island GOP has already requested a recount on his behalf.

“That was done yesterday by the GOP so at this time we’re waiting to hear back from the Board of Elections and from there we will have the recount and see what happens,” Ricci said.

Cardillo told the Sun Rise Wednesday, before early votes had arrived, that he was “confident that I’m going to win.”

“I feel good, I feel good about it,” Cardillo said Thursday morning. “I don’t really think a recount will matter. I would like to thank all the people of Johnston and Cranston who voted for me.”

Ricci said he was “completely shocked” by how the vote reporting process played out, calling out the Board of Elections for a lack of clarity on their elections result page. While the figures showed 100 percent of precincts reporting on Tuesday night, and Ricci well ahead, the Board of Elections had not yet counted mail-in or early votes.

It should be noted that social media was abuzz with the Board of Elections reporting schedule for the night – Election Day voting results would be released starting at 8 p.m. when polls closed, followed by mail ballots at 10 and early counts at 11. The latter two were delayed, and early votes were not tabulated until Wednesday afternoon, but they were always slated to arrive later than those recorded Tuesday.

“I don’t like the way the Board of Elections put out their numbers and they told everyone in the state that everything was counted 100 percent, and at 11 o’clock we were celebrating that we had taken seats in the House and the Senate, and at 1 a.m. we were called and things were changed,” Ricci said. “I think that was very cruel.”

Ricci, prior to the arrival of early ballots, posted a message to the Sun Rise Facebook page that he would not be conceding the race any time soon.

“I appreciate the thousands of hard-working people in House District 42 in Johnston and Cranston who put their faith in me to be their State Representative,” Ricci said. “I was ahead last night according to the voter machines, an accurate reflection of the will of the people. Early voting and the mail ballots apparently changed the race? I owe it to the people to demand a complete review of the mail ballot returns which appeared in the middle of the night on the Board of Elections’ website.”

He expressed confidence in his chances with the recount, saying the Republican Party is making inroads in Johnston especially. He said a Johnston Town Republican Committee is slated to begin meeting next year.

“We’re going to have a presence in Johnston,” Ricci said. “With the way the voters came out, I feel as though we can definitely make a real impression in the town and possibly turn the seats to the Republicans and restore Republican values.”

Cardillo said he doesn’t fear the outcome of the recount, citing better technology and stronger infrastructure.

“I have no problem with a recount,” Cardillo said. “I’m confident that we will come out ahead because the machines today are not like the old ones. They’re accurate, very accurate.”