Rhode Island Question 2, Higher Education Facilities Bond Measure (2024)

Rhode Island Question 2
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Bond issues
Status a Approved
Type Bond issue	Origin State Legislature

Rhode Island Question 2, the Higher Education Facilities Bond Measure was on the ballot in Rhode Island as a legislatively referred bond question on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported issuing $160.5 million in bonds for improvements to higher education facilities, with $87.5 million going to the construction of a University of Rhode Island Biomedical Sciences building, and $73 million going to renovations and improvements to the Rhode Island College Institute of Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies.

A "no" vote opposed issuing $160.5 million in bonds for improvements to higher education facilities, with $87.5 million going to the construction of a University of Rhode Island Biomedical Sciences building, and $73 million going to renovations and improvements to the Rhode Island College Institute of Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies.

Election results

See also: Results for education and school choice ballot measures, 2024

Rhode Island Question 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		281,672	59.82%
No		189,173	40.18%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did the bond revenue from this measure fund?

See also: Text of measure

The bond issue authorized the issuance of $160.5 million to fund projects related to higher education, including $87.5 million for constructing the University of Rhode Island Biomedical Sciences Building and $73 million to fund renovations and improvements to the Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies.

Between 2010 and 2022, Rhode Island voters approved all six bond measures related to higher education, including funds for the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. In total, the bond measures authorized the issuance of $468.5 million.

How did the bond issue get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

To put a legislatively referred bond question before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the Rhode Island State Senate and the Rhode Island House of Representatives. In Rhode Island, the state General Assembly must ask voters to issue general obligation bonds over $50,000, except in the case of war, insurrection, or invasion.

The bond measure was introduced into the Rhode Island General Assembly as a provision of Article 5 of House Bill 7225 (HB 7225), the state appropriations bill for the fiscal year 2025. HB 7225 included four total bond measures. The legislature voted on each article separately.

On June 7, 2024, the House passed Article 5 of HB 7225 by 68-6. On June 13, the Senate voted 35-2 in concurrence with the House.

The total bond package included the following:

Measure	Primary purpose	Amount
Higher Education Facilities Bond Measure	Higher education	$87,500,000
Housing Acquisition, Development, and Infrastructure Bond Measure	Housing	$120,000,000
Environmental and Recreational Infrastructure Bond Measure	Environment	$53,000,000
Cultural Arts and Economy Grant Program Bond Measure	Culture and arts	$10,000,000

What is the history of bond measures in Rhode Island?

Between 2008 and 2022, voters in Rhode Island decided on 32 bond measures totaling $2.1 billion in principal value. Voters approved 100% of the bond measures, with support ranging from 55.23% (Question 2 of 2010) to 83.89% (Question 3 of 2016). As of 2022, voters had not rejected a bond measure since 2006, when 50.56% of electors rejected a $4.0 million bond for improvements in Fort Adams State Park.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

HIGHER EDUCATION FACILITIES - $160,500,000 For capital improvements to higher education facilities, to be allocated as follows: a. University of Rhode Island Biomedical Sciences Building - $87,500,000 b. Rhode Island College Cybersecurity Building - $73,000,000

”

Full text

The full text of the bond package is below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 19, and the FRE is -12. The word count for the ballot title is 29.

Support

Rhode Islanders for Higher Education led the campaign supporting the measure.

Ballotpedia did not locate arguments in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Rhode Island ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through December 13, 2024.

Rhode Islanders for Higher Education was registered to oppose the ballot measure.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$144,600.00	$0.00	$144,600.00	$428,450.77	$428,450.77
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$144,600.00	$0.00	$144,600.00	$428,450.77	$428,450.77

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in opposition to Question 2
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Rhode Islanders for Higher Education	$144,600.00	$0.00	$144,600.00	$428,450.77	$428,450.77
Total	$144,600.00	$0.00	$144,600.00	$428,450.77	$428,450.77

Donors

The following were the top donors who contributed to the support committees.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Rhode Island College Foundation	$144,000.00	$0.00	$144,000.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Background

Bond issues on the ballot in Rhode Island

Between 2008 and 2023, voters in Rhode Island decided on 32 bond measures. Voters approved all of the bond measures, with support ranging from 55.23% (Question 2 of 2010) to 83.89% (Question 3 of 2016). As of 2024, voters had not rejected a bond measure since 2006, when 50.56% of electors rejected a $4.0 million bond for improvements in Fort Adams State Park.

The following table contains information on the 32 bond issues that appeared on the ballot in Rhode Island between 2008 and 2023:

Year	Measure	Primary purpose	Amount	Outcome
2008	Question 1	Transportation projects	$87,215,000	a
2008	Question 2	Environment and recreation	$2,500,000	a
2010	Question 2	Higher education	$78,000,000	a
2010	Question 3	Transportation projects	$84,700,000	a
2010	Question 4	Environment and recreation	$14,700,000	a
2012	Question 3	Higher education	$50,000,000	a
2012	Question 4	Housing	$94,000,000	a
2012	Question 5	Water infrastructure	$12,000,000	a
2012	Question 6	Environment and recreation	$20,000,000	a
2012	Question 7	Housing	$25,000,000	a
2014	Question 4	Higher education	$125,000,000	a
2014	Question 5	Museums	$35,000,000	a
2014	Question 6	Transportation projects	$35,000,000	a
2014	Question 7	Environment and recreation	$53,000,000	a
2016	Question 3	Housing	$27,000,000	a
2016	Question 4	Higher education	$45,500,000	a
2016	Question 5	Transportation projects	$70,000,000	a
2016	Question 6	Environment and recreation	$35,000,000	a
2016	Question 7	Environment and recreation	$50,000,000	a
2018	Question 1	School buildings	$250,000,000	a
2018	Question 2	Higher education facilities	$70,000,000	a
2018	Question 3	Environment and recreation	$47,300,000	a
2021	Question 1	Higher education	$107,300,000	a
2021	Question 2	Water and recreation	$74,000,000	a
2021	Question 3	Housing	$65,000,000	a
2021	Question 4	Transportation	$71,700,000	a
2021	Question 5	Education	$15,000,000	a
2021	Question 6	Culture and arts	$7,000,000	a
2021	Question 7	Industrial infrastructure	$60,000,000	a
2022	Question 1	Education	$100,000,000	a
2022	Question 2	Education	$250,000,000	a
2022	Question 3	Environment and recreation	$50,000,000	a

GO bond debt in Rhode Island

As of the fiscal year 2023, the Rhode Island state debt from general obligation (GO) bonds was $1.6 billion.

Path to the ballot

To put a legislatively referred bond question before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the Rhode Island State Senate and the Rhode Island House of Representatives. In Rhode Island, the state General Assembly must ask voters to issue general obligation bonds over $50,000, except in the case of war, insurrection, or invasion.

The bond measure was introduced into the Rhode Island General Assembly as a provision of Article 5 of House Bill 7225 (HB 7225), the state appropriations bill for the fiscal year 2025. HB 7225 included four total bond measures. The legislature voted on each article separately.

On June 7, 2024, the House passed Article 5 of HB 7225 by 68-6. On June 13, the Senate voted 35-2 in concurrence with the House. The governor signed HB 7225 on June 17.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Rhode Island

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Rhode Island.

How to vote in Rhode Island

Poll times

Polls in Rhode Island open at 7 a.m. Eastern Time except in New Shoreham, where they open at 9 a.m. All polls statewide close at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Rhode Island, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Rhode Island, and at least 16 years old. To voter, one must be at least 18 years old by Election Day. Applicants can register online, by mailing in a voter registration form, or in person at the local board of canvassers or other state agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Human Services, or the Department of Mental Health.

Automatic registration

See also: Automatic voter registration

Rhode Island enacted automatic voter registration in 2017.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Rhode Island has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

See also: Same-day voter registration

“

Rhode Island allows for same day voter registration for the Presidential Election only. If you miss the voter registration deadline, you can register to vote on Election Day, but you will only be able to vote for President and Vice President. You will not be able to vote in any state, local, or other federal races. You can only register and vote on Election Day at the location designated by your local board of canvassers.

”

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Rhode Island, you must be a resident of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Rhode Island does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Rhode Island Department of State allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

Rhode Island requires voters to present photo identification (ID) while voting. Accepted forms of ID include a Rhode Island driver's license, Rhode Island voter ID card, and U.S. passport. For a list of all accepted forms of ID, see below.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of April 2023. Click here for the Rhode Island Secretary of State page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

“

RI Driver's License or Permit RI Voter ID Card * U.S. Passport ID issued by a U.S. educational institution U.S. military ID ID card issued by the United States or the State of Rhode Island Government issued medical card Tribal ID

”

• *The Rhode Island Secretary of State's office is issuing free voter photo ID cards to individuals who do not possess any of the valid Photo IDs listed above. For additional information, visit Rhode Island's online Voter Information Center, call 401-222-2340, or email elections@sos.ri.gov.

External links

• Text of Appropriations Act