Prudence Island was the last CD1 precinct to report results. Why they take so long.

Only 34 Portsmouth residents on Prudence Island voted in person in the most recent 1st Congressional District primary. However, it was the very last precinct in all of CD1 to have its results posted by the state thanks to the islands’ unique circumstances.

“It’s challenging but it's worth it to be able to allow people who live on these islands to have their votes counted,” said Portsmouth Registrar of Voters Jacqueline Schulz.

Prudence Island is home to a small year-round population and has one polling precinct, which was stationed on the island at the Hope Brown Center on Sept. 5. Like New Shoreham’s Block Island, Prudence Island does not have a bridge connecting it to mainland Rhode Island and Prudence Island is only accessible by boat, making logistics surrounding elections more difficult than other areas around the state.

"The Rhode Island Board of Elections works with all of our local boards of canvassers partners to ensure the prompt reporting of results on election night,” the Rhode Island Board of Canvassers said in a statement. “With regard to Prudence Island and New Shoreham, there are obvious practical challenges to reporting results from an island location. These challenges include physical distance from the mainland and sometimes unreliable internet access which can delay secure modem transmission of election results to the Board of Elections."

Prudence Island’s semi-unique circumstances occasionally cause complications for the Portsmouth Canvassing Authority, because they use the Prudence Island ferries to get election equipment, supplies and ballots to and from the island. Schulz said they use the ferries because of their ability to transport the Department of Public Works vehicles, which are big enough to transport election equipment.

With their situation in mind, Schulz said the Canvassing Authority typically transports election materials to the island a week ahead of time and keeps them secured until use. Despite their precautions, things don’t always go smoothly every time, however, Schulz cited one instance in 2021 where a storm kept the ferries from operating on Election Day. She also cited another instance where an election machine broke and the town’s Department of Public Works had to ferry over to fix it.

“God forbid something happens the day before the elections and the ferries are not running,” Schulz said. “This election everything went smoothly, we didn’t have any hurricanes or high seas.”

But while the process went smoothly this election, all precincts in the district besides Prudence Island were reported by the R.I. Board of Elections before 11 p.m. on election night. Votes from Prudence Island weren't included on the board's results page until 9:26 a.m. the following day.

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Reliance on fair weather and ferries is not the only challenge Portsmouth faces conducting elections on Prudence Island. The island also has poor broadband connectivity, making results transmission on the island slow and difficult.

“I know they are trying to get better service there, it’s really important,” Schulz said. “There are very difficult challenges overall.”

Schulz compared their situation a lot to New Shoreham, saying they probably face more challenges delivering ballots because they have to travel the Atlantic Ocean for a further distance to reach the mainland.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: CD1 results from Prudence Island last to be reported in 2023 race