Louisiana’s voters can start casting their ballots today for the upcoming election to choose the nation’s next president, to fill congressional seats and to select local elected officials around the state.
Secretary of State Tom Schedler is encouraging people to vote ahead of the Nov. 8 election, as the week-long early voting period opens today and runs through Tuesday, Nov. 1.
“Presidential elections are always Louisiana’s highest turnout elections, and that means lots of people will be in line on Election Day. Early voting gives people a whole week to vote when it’s convenient for them and lines may be shorter,” Schedler says in a statement.
There are more than 220 races around the state, with 728 candidates, according to the Secretary of State’s office. The heated presidential election is at the top of the ballot. And while voters may only recognize the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and the Republican nominee Donald Trump, The Associated Press reports there are 11 other candidates also are running in Louisiana to be the nation’s chief executive. They include contenders from the Libertarian Party, Green Party, Constitution Party, Socialist Workers Party and others fewer people may recognize.
Six constitutional amendments also await decisions from voters statewide. Louisiana’s ballot also includes the competition for an open U.S. Senate seat with two dozen candidates vying for the job. All six U.S. House seats also are on the ballot, a Louisiana Supreme Court seat, three appeals court positions, an opening on the Public Service Commission and a long list of parish and municipal elected positions.
In East Baton Rouge Parish, voters will decide who will replace Kip Holden as mayor and the makeup of its Metro Council, which has nine contested seats. Metro Council incumbents Trae Welch in District 1 and Donna Collins-Lewis in District 6 did not draw any challengers, and Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe’s lone challenger, Dr. Rani Whitfield, ended his campaign last month. Whitfield’s name will still appear on the ballot, however, because he did not formally withdraw from the race before the July 29 deadline.
A dozen candidates are vying to be Baton Rouge’s next mayor. Read about the race in a recent Business Report cover story.
Early voting runs daily from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Sunday, at local parish registrar of voters’ offices and other designated locations. See a complete listing of early voting sites.
Because of widespread flooding damage in Livingston Parish, a special early voting location has been opened at the Juban Crossing development.
