RE: Problem brewing in Rhode Island

No worries. To be clear - no inquiries yet, but RNC will be pushing it. Pratt just swung by my desk - SOS ready to go on record with these points defending their approach, which is good. I think that if DNC press office gets inquiries about hypocrisy between AZ / RI then we can direct them to RI SOS comment, and explain on background that it's not as dire as AZ and that RI doesn't have the same VRA baggage. Thanks I'm sorry Eric, we got a call on my cell that we took pretty quickly. Pratt and I were reminded that in RI, the Secretary of State doesn't manage elections, but they're run by the Board of Elections that are appointed by the Governor. Apparently the number of polling locations they've opened are consistent with the numbers opened in 2008 and 2012, and they've also increased the number of poll workers, ballots and booths to accommodate any unexpected surges. For example they're telling us that they printed 300K ballots for an expected turnout of 180K. Again, these decisions are made by the Board of Elections. The Secretary has been travelling to polling locations all morning/afternoon and they haven't seen any issues. Apparently the longest wait they're seeing is 25 minutes. So, if we do write a letter, it would need to be to the Board of Elections. I'd be a little cautious about pulling the trigger on it too soon. Can we give some of this info on background to show we've made inquiries to the state if we start getting calls and then punt it back to RI? I would like to be on this call, but first, I don't think we even need a statement. We just need something to cover ourselves. I think when we start getting inquiries, if we have a letter to the SOS that we can point to, it will show that we are engaged and that we don't just pipe up when it's a Republican administration closing poll locations. We can make the point to reporters individually off the record that it's not apples and oranges: Arizona more serious because the state was covered under VRA and has had a history of problems - Rhode Island doesn't have those same historical issues. Adding Lauren who mentioned this in the morning meeting. Works for me I think it's a good idea to check in with Nellie as well. Pratt, do you want to do that call together? I am fine with that. Before we do that we should talk to the SOS to get all of the details. Raul Alvillar National Political Director Democratic National Committee Tele. 202.863.8000 [cid:image001.png@01D0CE9B.F742D770] Was thinking a letter so that if press asks us about it, we can show we are responsive and active. If we're crying foul in AZ, we might need to do the same - at least nominally - in RI so we don't look like hypocrites On Apr 25, 2016, at 7:41 PM, Pratt Wiley <WileyP@dnc.org<mailto:WileyP@dnc.org>> wrote: Adding Lindsay Sent from my iPhone On Apr 25, 2016, at 7:40 PM, Wilson, Erin <WilsonE@dnc.org<mailto:WilsonE@dnc.org>> wrote: We've got a pretty close relationship with Nellie. Eric, what are you suggesting by way of an inquiry? Sent from my iPhone On Apr 25, 2016, at 7:15 PM, Patrice Taylor <TaylorP@dnc.org<mailto:TaylorP@dnc.org>> wrote: The other thing to flag on this is that the Sec of State Nellie Gorbea one was of the Chair's appointments to the Platform Committee. She serves in a leadership role as a Vice Chair. On Apr 25, 2016, at 6:33 PM, Wei, Shu-Yen <WeiS@dnc.org<mailto:WeiS@dnc.org>> wrote: Tim Robbins tweeted this out earlier (his twitter feed is pretty anti-HRC) https://twitter.com/TimRobbins1/status/724618825824608258 Yeah, Spicer was tweeting on this, equating it with AZ New report shows RI gov't opening only a fraction of polling locations: http://www.bustle.com/articles/156771-why-is-rhode-island-closing-its-primary-polls-voters-need-to-check-their-polling-locations Bernie leads Hillary by 4 in the latest poll: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2016/04/clinton-sanders-close-in-ctpari-trump-headed-for-big-wins.html If she outperforms this polling, the Bernie camp will go nuts and allege misconduct. They'll probably complain regardless, actually. We might want to get out in front of this one with an inquiry to the RI Gov, even though she's one of ours. Eric Walker walkere@dnc.org<mailto:walkere@dnc.org> 732-991-1489 @ericmwalker<https://twitter.com/ericmwalker>