Changing the Official Name of the State | |||||||||||||
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Question 1 was a 2020 ballot measure in Rhode Island to change the official name of the state from State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to State of Rhode Island. The proposal passed with 53% of the vote. [2]
The state was officially named the "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" when it declared statehood in 1790. Over time it became commonly known as simply "Rhode Island".
The General Assembly voted in 2009 to hold a referendum in November 2010 on removing "and Providence Plantations" from the official name. Advocates for excising plantation argued that the word symbolized a legacy of disenfranchisement for many Rhode Islanders, as well as the proliferation of slavery in the colonies and in the post-colonial United States. Advocates for retaining the name argued that plantation was simply an archaic synonym for colony and bore no relation to slavery. The people voted overwhelmingly (78% to 22%) to retain the entire original name. [3]
In June 2020, Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order to remove the phrase "Providence Plantations" from all official state documents. [4] Raimondo wrote "the pain that this association causes to some of our residents should be of concern to all Rhode Islanders and we should do everything in our power to ensure that all communities can take pride in our state", referring to the ties of the word "plantations" to American slavery. However, changing the state's full official name required a state constitutional amendment that needed to be approved by voters. [5]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 247,261 | 53.12 |
| No | 218,175 | 46.88 |
| Total votes | 465,436 | 100.00 |
Rhode Island is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound; and shares a small maritime border with New York, east of Long Island. Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly more than 1.1 million residents as of 2024. The state's population, however, has continually recorded growth in every decennial census since 1790, and it is the second-most densely populated state after New Jersey. The state takes its name from the eponymous island, though nearly all its land area is on the mainland. Providence is its capital and most populous city.
David Nicola Cicilline is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Rhode Island's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 36th mayor of Providence from 2003 to 2011, the first openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital.
The history of Rhode Island is an overview of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and the state of Rhode Island from pre-colonial times to the present.
Elizabeth H. Roberts is an American politician who served as the 68th lieutenant governor of Rhode Island from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in that position during the administrations of Republican governor Donald Carcieri and Independent-turned Democrat Lincoln Chafee. She was elected in 2006, becoming the state's first female lieutenant governor and was succeeded by Daniel McKee on January 6, 2015. She later served as Secretary of Health and Human Services during the administration of Governor Gina Raimondo, but subsequently resigned due to a widely criticized statewide computer system rollout.
Daniel J. McKee is an American politician and businessman serving as the 76th governor of Rhode Island since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as Rhode Island's 69th lieutenant governor from 2015 to 2021.
Nicholas A. Mattiello is an American politician and Democratic former member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, who represented the 15th District from 2007 to 2021. He served as the Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from March 25, 2014 to 2021. In 2020, he was defeated in an upset by Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, the wife of Cranston mayor Allan Fung.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Rhode Island have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. Rhode Island established two types of major relationship recognition for same-sex couples, starting with civil unions on July 1, 2011, and then on August 1, 2013 with same-sex marriage. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is outlawed within the state namely in the areas of employment, housing, healthcare and public accommodations. In addition, conversion therapy on minors has been banned since 2017.
Gina Marie Raimondo is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who served from 2021 to 2025 as the 40th United States secretary of commerce. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 75th governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021, and was the first woman to serve in the role.
The 2014 Rhode Island gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Rhode Island, concurrently with the election of Rhode Island's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Herbert Claiborne Pell IV is an American lawyer, military officer, and politician. He is a commander and judge advocate in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, and served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education in the United States Department of Education. He is the grandson of the late Senator Claiborne Pell. Pell ran for the 2014 Democratic Party nomination for Governor of Rhode Island in a competitive three-way race ultimately won by Rhode Island State Treasurer Gina Raimondo.
Khalil Joseph Shekarchi is an American politician currently serving as speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. A Democrat, he has represented District 23 in Warwick since January 1, 2013. He was chairman of the House Labor Committee until his Democratic colleagues elected him as the House majority leader in November 2016. After four years as majority leader, his colleagues elected him speaker in November 2020 following the defeat of longtime speaker Nicholas Mattiello. Shekarchi considers himself a moderate Democrat.
Erin Patricia Lynch Prata is an American politician and an Associate Justice on the Rhode Island Supreme Court. She previously served in the Rhode Island Senate representing District 31 since January 2009. Lynch Prata served as Chairwoman on the Senate Committee on Judiciary, as well as a member of the Senate Committee on Rules, Government Ethics & Oversight and the Senate Committee on Special Legislation & Veterans' Affairs. She focused on issues including public education, economic development, job growth, health care and environmental protection. She was confirmed to be an Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court in December 2020.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Rhode Island on November 4, 2014. All of Rhode Island's executive officers went up for election as well as a United States Senate seat and both of Rhode Island's two seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on September 9, 2014.
Nellie M. Gorbea is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she had served as the Secretary of State of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2023.
The 2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Rhode Island, concurrently with the election of Rhode Island's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Rhode Island on November 6, 2018. The party primaries for the election occurred on September 12, 2018. All of Rhode Island's executive officers went up for election as well as Rhode Island's Class I U.S. Senate seat and both of Rhode Island's two seats in the United States House of Representatives.
Roberto "Bob" DaSilva is an American politician currently serving as the first Mayor of the City of East Providence, Rhode Island. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a State Representative for District 63 in the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 2009 to 2013.
Trista Piccola served as the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families from January 2017 until July 2019. Her term was marked by the death and near-deaths of children, high staff turn-over rates, votes of no confidence, and high budget deficits.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. state of Rhode Island is part of an ongoing worldwide viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. As of August 18, 2022, there has been 414,931 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Rhode Island, 89 of which are currently hospitalized, and 3,636 reported deaths. Rhode Island's COVID-19 case rate and death rate per capita are the highest and twentieth highest, respectively, of the fifty states since the start of the pandemic.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Rhode Island, one from each of the state's 2 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. It followed a primary election on September 13, 2022.
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