Providence Journal / Bob Thayer
Gayle Corrigan, chief of staff for the state-appointed receiver of Central Falls, explains the details of the city's seven-page bilingual ballot for the Nov. 6 election.
CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. -- The state's smallest city will feature the longest ballot in state history when city voters head to nine polling places scattered across Central Falls next month.
Officials at the state Board of Elections confirmed on Thursday that Central Falls will have a four-page ballot that covers six full pages and touches a seventh page when city residents cast their ballots in the Nov. 6 election.
There are several reasons for the lengthy ballot. Federal law requires cities to provide bilingual ballots where at least 5 percent of the registered voters do not speak English.
More than 60 percent of the city's 19,600 residents are Latino.
Also, the city is hosting a special mayoral primary next month and lists five candidates to replace Charles D. Moreau, the longtime mayor who resigned in September and agreed to plead guilty to a federal corruption charge.
The ballot also includes nine questions that call for possible changes in the City Charter such as term limits for the mayor and council members.
All told, there are 22 questions for Central Falls voters to answer on the ballot.