Boston Globe — In the Ocean State, a legal dispute centers on voting rights and beach cabanas

An image from the Bonnet Shores Fire District websiteSCREEN GRAB

June 14, 2021

By Edward Fitzpatrick — PROVIDENCE — The ACLU blasts Bonnet Shores Fire District for limiting voting rights to those who own more than $400 worth of property

In the rich annals of Rhode Island legal battles, this case lacks the high-society intrigue of the Claus von Bülow murder trial or the envelope-full-of-cash evidence unveiled during the “Operation Plunder Dome” investigation of Providence City Hall.

But it’s tough to find more quintessentially Rhode Island litigation than a current lawsuit involving Bonnet Shores and its cabanas, which for generations have symbolized summer living at the beach in Narragansett.

A group of residents is suing the Bonnet Shores Fire District, claiming it’s unconstitutional for the district to prevent residents from voting if they own less than $400 worth of property. The say that restriction prevents some year-round residents from voting while giving voting rights to non-residents who own beach cabanas – including 16-square-foot “bathroom units.”

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