Jamestown voters will decide on $3 million affordable housing borrowing in November

The Jamestown Board of Canvassers voted Friday to certify a local ballot question that will ask voters in November whether the town may borrow up to $3 million for affordable housing projects.

The question, read into the record at the board's July 31 meeting, appears on the November 3 general election ballot. Its wording: "Shall an act passed at the 2026 session of the General Assembly entitled, 'An act authorizing the town of Jamestown to fund affordable housing projects and to issue not more than $3 million bonds and notes thereof,' be approved? Yes or no?" The question is tied to Local Acts 7 and 8 of 2026, and its number on the ballot has not yet been assigned.

Certifying a ballot question is the administrative step that sends the town's approved wording to the state. A board member noted that the Town Council approved the question at its most recent meeting, and that the Board of Canvassers was required to certify it to the Secretary of State's Office. The motion passed by voice vote, with no discussion beyond a request to read the text aloud for people listening. Board members signed both pages; the clerk and the Town of Jamestown town clerk, Roberta Fagan, sign the attestation, which is the formal statement verifying the document.

Mail ballot applications certified in two votes, with one recusal

The board also certified mail ballot applications received to date. Members split the work into two motions after sorting the applications into categories, including standard mail ballot requests and federal postcard applications used by voters living overseas or serving in the military.

The first motion certified applications in categories 1, 2 and 4, and passed by voice vote. Before the second motion, Daphne Meredith recused herself from the category 3 vote and stepped down from the dais. She explained on the record that two absentee ballot applicants — a longtime friend and that person's daughter, both U.S. citizens living overseas with no U.S. residence — use her address as their mailing address. "I'm doing so in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest," she said. Laura Goldstein, the board's Democratic alternate, voted in her place, and that motion also passed by voice vote.

Clerk seeks state grant for records storage

Board of Canvassers clerk Keith Ford reported that he submitted a grant request to the Secretary of State's Office on the day of the meeting, ahead of a same-day deadline, to replace the small metal cabinets now used to store voter records. He told the board the existing drawers are essentially full and that a larger system would integrate into existing shelving in the vault. He said he expects word within a couple of weeks. The transcript does not include a dollar amount for the request.

Statewide canvassing group still short on participation

Meredith gave a report on a statewide group of canvassing officials that is trying to organize itself into a professional association. She described a body that is defining shared problems across city and town canvassing authorities — including what boards do when they cannot staff jobs with pairs from opposing parties — but that continues to struggle to get full participation from municipalities.

She said she has engaged a consultant to draft a four-month strategy for building the group's membership, and that she and the consultant would bring the idea to the board before presenting it. Other members pushed back on timing, noting that recruitment efforts rarely land in summer or in the middle of an election cycle. The chair moved the discussion along, calling the group "nascent" and describing it as a useful channel for peer exchange, citing a poll worker tracking system the town is preparing to adopt that came from Newport. No vote was taken; the topic will return to a future agenda.

Poll worker recognition event floated

A member proposed adding a thank-you luncheon or similar event for poll workers to a future agenda. Asked whether money had been set aside for it, Ford said a small budget request for that purpose was not funded. Members said they had covered it themselves previously and were willing to do so again. Because it was raised during open forum, no action could be taken; the item was placed on the next agenda.

What's next

The board's next meeting is scheduled for August 19 at 2 p.m., covering the final canvass and mail ballots. Members noted it falls the day before early voting begins. The statewide primary is September 9. Members also said the internal elections calendar lists September 11 for local candidate certification, but that the town cannot certify local candidates until the state completes its own certification and logic and accuracy testing of voting equipment.

Board members also referenced a training session on Wednesday, August 5, at CCRI in Newport, with moderators at 5 p.m. and clerks at 6:30 p.m. Members were unsure of the day during the meeting and said they would confirm it.