Politifact: Early voting, guns, and weed

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Our news partners at the Providence Journal continue to put public officials to the test, using the truth-o-meter.

The PolitiFact team helps you see through the spin, rating statements made by political candidates from true to false, to pants on fire.

First, state Representative Chris Blazejewski, on the subject of early voting, said "In 32 others states and Washington, DC, voters can avoid the wait by voting before Election Day."

Tim Murphy of the Providence Journal rated this true.

"Rep. Blazejewski has put in a bill that would allow voting up to 21 days before voting day in Rhode Island," said Murphy. "We checked with the National Conference on State Legislatures and they told us that there were 32 states that have early voting, plus two states that do voting by mail."

• More on early voting: Lawmakers introduce early voting bills

Next, Rep. Linda Finn made recent comments on gun control, saying "Rhode Island could tell you who has a camper, but we couldn't figure out who has a gun."

Tim Murphy ruled this claim "mostly true."

"Of course, the DMV registers campers, so we checked the gun laws in Rhode Island to see what they said," Murphy explained. "In fact, state law prohibits Rhode Island from having any sort of state-wide registry of guns. There's a limited registry of people who have concealed weapons, a small group."

• More on gun control: Hundreds protest gun control at State House

Finally, Nancy Devaney, the chairwoman of the Ocean State Prevention Alliance, said "In annual surveys of Rhode Island communities that receive drug-free community grants, many report that more than 50% of youth surveyed do not think daily marijuana use poses any serious risk of harm."

Tim Murphy ruled this claim "mostly true."

"We checked the survey results from all of the schools that do these sorts of surveys and, in fact, most teens don't think there's serious risk in marijuana use," he said. "Not all of them said daily use, which was her claim. That's why we ruled this mostly true."

• More on marijuana: MD officials back medical marijuana bill

For a complete listing of Politifact statements and ratings can be found on the Providence Journal website.