This year will provide voters with new opportunities to get involved in government, not only in their polling locations but also at the Capitol, writes Jeremy Alford in his latest column.
“Those opportunities will also amount to a shot at redemption, which is sorely needed after the parade of apathy that was on display in 2017,” he says.
Five statewide ballot items in 2017 yielded an average voter turnout of 14%—an electoral slump Secretary of State Tom Schedler aims to reverse.
But Alford argues a change in state law shouldn’t be needed.
“In addition to making sure you vote in 2018, make it a part of your civic duty to take someone along with you. As for voter participation at the Capitol last year, we heard the same kind of participation crickets chirping into the wind. Despite the heavy debates that were raging about the budget and taxes, not to mention the fiscal future of Louisiana, the hallways and committee rooms were relatively quiet.”
It’s a troubling trend, Alford continues, and, sadly, the problems run from head to toe in the Bayou State.
“At the front-end, fewer people want to run for office, based on recent qualifying periods. Fewer people are voting, as we learned from last year’s tallies. And finally, fewer people are participating in the legislative process, particularly when it comes to the fiscal issues hosted by this term’s sessions.”
But Alford says there are opportunities to get involved this year.
Regional and local elections that will touch every corner of the state if all of the slated contests draw contenders, which is unlikely. All of our U.S. House members—Congressmen Ralph Abraham, Garret Graves, Clay Higgins, Mike Johnson, Cedric Richmond and Steve Scalise—are up for re-election in November. The Public Service Commission will have a seat up for grabs in the fall too.
“And you’ll have at least one shot to catch a lawmaker’s ear in 2018—during the regular session that convenes March 12 and adjourns June 4,” Alford says. “That’s when the House and Senate will be charged with balancing a budget, which may prove difficult. If you have ever earnestly sweated about funding for higher education and health care, this will be a session to watch.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
