Wednesday Rhode Island Primary: Last Time Was 1988

The last time a primary election happened on a Wednesday in Rhode Island was 1988.

Bruce Sundlun was on the Democratic primary ballot for governor and 75,393 people came out to vote in the Democratic primary. Sundlun easily overcame Peter van Daam for the nomination. That year did not have a competitive Republican Primary.

Other key people on the ballot included U.S. Rep. Fernand St. Germain and President Jimmy Carter's advisor Ruth Morgenthau, both running for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Thirty years later, Rhode Island’s primaries are again on a Wednesday to accommodate for the Jewish Holiday Rosh Hashanah.

It's not clear how this will affect voter turnout. The Providence Journal is reporting political pundits and pollsters are going both ways regarding their project for voter turnout.

The secretary of state's office made no turnout estimates for this year's primary. Numbers in recent midterm primaries have fluctuated. Turnout in the 2014 primaries was 44 percent. In 2010, turnout was 49 percent. However, the 2006 primary had 58 percent voter turnout because of a hotly contested Republican primary for U.S. Senate between incumbent Sen. Lincoln Chaffe and former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey

Almost half of all 782,000 Rhode Island voters have no party affiliation. They may choose to vote in either primary. About 308,000 voters are registered Democrats compared to 92,000 registered as Republicans.

Image via Shutterstock