Primary Election Date Adjustment for Labor Day
Summary
Rhode Island enacted S2147 requiring that primary elections, normally held on the eighth Tuesday before biennial state elections, shall be held on the following Wednesday when Labor Day falls the day before that Tuesday. Filing deadlines remain unchanged.
What changed
Rhode Island's S2147 modifies the timing of primary elections by shifting the date from Tuesday to Wednesday when Labor Day falls immediately before the statutory primary Tuesday. The bill maintains all existing filing deadlines and does not alter other election procedures.
Election administrators in Rhode Island must adjust their calendars and operational schedules for affected election cycles. Voters should be informed of the Wednesday timing when applicable. No compliance burden increase is expected as this is purely an administrative date adjustment with no new filing or reporting requirements.
What to do next
- Update primary election calendars for cycles where Labor Day precedes the statutory Tuesday
- Communicate schedule changes to election officials and voters
- Ensure ballot processing systems reflect the Wednesday date
Archived snapshot
Apr 8, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
ChangeBridge / Rhode Island / S2147 Passed S2147 S Passed 2026-03-31
Requires that the primary election date, statutorily the eighth Tuesday preceding the biennial state elections, shall be held on the Wednesday when Labor Day is the day before said Tuesday. No other filing deadlines would be affected.
ELECTIONS -- PRIMARY ELECTIONS - Requires that the primary election date, statutorily the eighth Tuesday preceding the biennial state elections, shall be held on the Wednesday when Labor Day is the day before said Tuesday. No other filing deadlines would be affected.
Bill Details
State Rhode Island
Session 2026 Regular Session
Chamber Senate
Official Source status.rilegislature.gov/
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Sponsors
John Burke (Sen - D) Matthew LaMountain (Sen - D)
Action History
2026-04-07 H Committee recommends passage of Sub A in concurrence 2026-04-03 H Scheduled for consideration (04/07/2026) 2026-04-01 H Referred to House State Government & Elections 2026-03-31 S Senate passed Sub A 2026-03-27 S Placed on Senate Calendar (03/31/2026) 2026-03-26 S Committee recommends passage of Sub A 2026-03-24 S Proposed Substitute 2026-03-24 S Scheduled for consideration (03/26/2026) 2026-02-26 S Committee recommended measure be held for further study 2026-02-23 S Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/26/2026) 2026-02-23 S Meeting postponed (02/24/2026) 2026-02-20 S Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration 2026-01-16 S Introduced, referred to Senate Judiciary
Votes
2026-02-26 Senate Committee on Judiciary: Be held for further study Yea: 8 Nay: 0 2026-03-31 Passage Yea: 34 Nay: 2
Committee Referrals
2026-01-16 S Judiciary 2026-04-01 H State Government & Elections
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-16 Introduced 2026-03-26 Comm Sub
Subjects
Elections ELECTIONS -- PRIMARY ELECTIONS Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
Named provisions
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