How does government work in Rhode Island?

What may surprise you here

• Rhode Island has no county governments, so cities and towns provide the local services that counties handle in most states. source
• Supreme Court justices hold office during good behavior, with no fixed term. source
• Rhode Island’s constitution names one supreme court and leaves other courts to the General Assembly; judges are appointed by the governor from a nominating commission’s list, not elected. source

Legislature

Name

General Assembly source

Senate: seats

38 source

Senate: term in years

2 source

House of Representatives: seats

75 source

House of Representatives: term in years

2 source

Term limits

None source

Structure set by: R.I. Const. art. VI, § 2; art. VII, § 1; art. VIII, § 1.

Governor and statewide offices

Term in years

4 source

Term limit

Two consecutive full terms source

Next regular election

2030 source

Lieutenant governor

separate election source

Attorney general

elected source

Attorney general’s term in years

4 source

Secretary of state

elected source

Secretary of state’s term in years

4 source

Courts

Highest court

Supreme Court source

Intermediate appeals court

None source

Main trial court

Superior Court source

How high-court judges reach the bench

gubernatorial appointment source

Local government

Called

none source

How many

0 source

Cities and towns

Rhode Island has no county governments; the Census Bureau’s 2022 count shows 8 municipal governments (cities) and 31 township governments (towns). source

Schools

Of 36 school systems in 2022, the Census Bureau counted 4 as independent school districts and 32 as dependent on another government. source

Elections

Chief election official

State Board of Elections source

Who runs elections locally

local boards of canvassers source

Primary type

partially open source

Regular governor elections fall in

even source

Citizen initiatives

no source

Who holds these offices

As of November 5, 2026. Terms of the current Congress run to January 3, 2027. Winners of the November 3, 2026 elections are not shown until results are certified and they take office.

Governor: Dan McKee DDemocratic, in office since March 2, 2021. source

Who has held each Senate seat since 2001

Each band is one person in the seat. The line marks November 2026; anything to its right is the rest of a current term. Dates through 2026 come from the congress-legislators public dataset, whose current members are matched against the Senate’s own roster on every build.

Sources