08/30/2026
Questions Surround URI Student Voting in Narragansett
A voter registration effort involving University of Rhode Island students living in Narragansett has raised questions about how temporary student housing, legal residency and local political organizing have become intertwined.
In October 2022, URI Assistant Dean of Students Stephen Simo forwarded a voter registration message on behalf of a Greek Life election committee to students living in Narragansett. The message told students how to register or change their voting address and stated, “To be eligible to vote in an election one has to live in the town for 30 days prior to election day which qualifies all of you!!”
Rhode Island law is more complicated. State law requires 30 days of residency before an election, but defines residence for voting purposes as a person’s “fixed and established domicile.” The law requires physical presence along with an intention to reside for an indefinite period. It also specifically states that an existing domicile is not lost simply because someone leaves it to attend an academic institution.
That is an important caveat for college students who may live in Narragansett from September through May while maintaining a permanent address, driver’s license, vehicle registration, tax records or other ties elsewhere.
URI’s current voter registration website now specifically addresses “out of state residents” and advises students considering Rhode Island registration to speak with the Financial Aid Office because doing so could affect their student aid.
That warning is also supported by correspondence provided to TBD from Rhode Island election officials.
In December 2025, Deputy Secretary of State Rob Rock wrote that registering in Rhode Island could create “an issue in their home state with the amount of money they receive for financial aid.” Rhode Island Board of Elections Executive Director Miguel Nuñez similarly wrote that staff conducting college voter registration drives tell students that registering in Rhode Island “may potentially impact their financial aid received from another state.”
Neither official said college students are prohibited from registering in Rhode Island. Both maintained that students may register using a Rhode Island address if they consider it their residence. The issue is whether students are receiving enough information to understand that registering to vote involves more than simply occupying a local rental for 30 days.
The political significance became more visible two years later. TBD was provided a photograph of what appears to be a prepared October 2024 text or email directed at URI students who had registered to vote in Narragansett. The document tells students to vote for Alexander Menzies, Jason Colonies, Ryan Torrealday, James Durkin and Donna Vignali for Town Council. It also tells them, “AND support URI. Vote YES on bond #2.”
All five candidates won seats on the Narragansett Town Council. Torrealday, who finished fifth, received 535 more votes than sixth place finisher Jill Lawler. Bond Question 2 authorized $160.5 million in higher-education borrowing, including $87.5 million for a new URI Biomedical Sciences Building.
The same message told students their votes would result in “better policies” affecting their housing and opportunities in Narragansett. Narragansett 2100, an organization representing landlords and property managers, has also maintained an organized relationship with URI students. URI Student Senate records from October 2024 reference George Nonis and the Narragansett 2100 URI Student Advisory Council seeking student participation from areas including Eastward Look, Scarborough, the Pier and Point Judith.
None of this proves that URI students voted illegally, nor does the available evidence establish who created the 2024 political message. It does establish that URI students living temporarily in Narragansett have become an organized and potentially significant local voting population, and that political messaging directed at those students has gone well beyond simply reminding them to vote.
