Results Unchanged After Mail Ballot Count

Barring a shocking outcome from a recount or a late challenge to the election results, the candidates everyone thought they had elected after Tuesday remain the same after mail ballot counting Thursday afternoon.

The closest race – South Kingstown Town Council – saw the fifth place candidate, Democrat Paul Donnelly, expand his lead from 81 votes to 108 over fellow Democrat Fred Frostic. Seventh place candidate and Republican Sean O’Donnell gained on Frostic, but remains 110 votes behind Donnelly.

The mail ballots did flip Narragansett to Republican Chris Wilkens in the District 34 General Assembly race. With the ballots factored in, Wilkens beat Tanzi by 32 votes at St. Mary’s, and lost by one vote at the Pier School, meaning he did carry Narragansett.

Unfortunately for Wilkens, the mail ballots did nothing to cut into Tanzi’s enormous lead via her home districts in South Kingstown. Tanzi won by about 15 percent points – more than 900 votes – by winning South Kingstown by a 2-to-1 margin.

The only other position switch, thanks to the mail ballots, occurred in the South Kingstown School Committee race.

Independent candidate Jonathan Daly-LaBelle fell from third on the ballot to fourth, but he remains safely ahead of fifth place candidate and Republican Roland Benjamin by 255 votes.