With state senators abandoning ship for statewide posts and new public jobs, and state representatives stepping up to become senators, and parish councilmen and mayors pushing to fill those vacancies, there has been a long string of special elections in recent months.
Over the course of the current term of the Louisiana Legislature, taxpayers have footed the bill for more than $1 million worth of special elections—basically, 32 unexpected contests—according to the Legislative Auditor’s Office, the most in the nation during that time frame.
And based on a search of the secretary of state’s election database, legislative leaders have called seven such races since November, including five this year, despite regularly scheduled elections slated for the fall.
There’s nothing he can do about the legislators’ happy feet, but House Appropriations Chairman Jim Fannin, a Jonesboro Democrat, has introduced a constitutional amendment to bring Louisiana’s vacancy procedures in line with other southern states. His House Bill 359 calls for legislative openings to be filled by temporary appointments; the appointees would serve until the regular four-year elections are held again.
The backbone of the proposed amendment is found in Fannin’s House Bill 575, which states that the temporary successor would be just that—temporary—and would be banned from standing for the office’s full four-year term. Under the proposal, the House speaker and Senate president would be allowed to make the appointments by proclamation, with only a few caveats.
Any vacancy that occurs because of a resignation would be guided by the vacating lawmaker, who would be allowed to submit the names of three nominees. In another interesting twist, Fannin’s enabling bill requires that nonresignation vacancies be filled with temporary successors of the same party—or of no party affiliation, if applicable—as their predecessors.
Fannin, who won a special election in 2003, expects some pushback on the bill, adding that lawmakers are beginning to pay attention to election costs, especially as the state faces a $1.3 billion shortfall.
“It’s not like we don’t have anyone out there who is willing to serve and do it well,” Fannin says. “I also think this could increase the number of voters we see participating in elections.”
Interim Secretary of State Tom Schedler supports Fannin’s push, but he realizes it’s only half the battle. The other factor weighing down Louisiana’s election costs are off-date local tax and bond elections. For a solution, look no further than Senate Bill 108 by Sen. Neil Riser, a Columbia Republican, which would cut the number of these local initiatives from half to only two per year. They would also have to be held in conjunction with major primary elections.
Schedler likes Riser’s bill as well, even though there will be some challenges for the voting machines operated by his office, which are not equipped for that kind of volume. While Riser’s legislation has already cleared the committee process—Fannin’s bills are awaiting their first hearing—Schedler has worked out an amendment for later in the process that would allow for paper ballots under certain circumstances. Otherwise, it could cost the state as much as $23 million for new machines.
“It’s time we implement something like this,” Schedler says.
Riser’s bill isn’t universally cheered; some lawmakers have already voted against it, and opposition from school boards, mayors and police juries is strong. Like Fannin, Riser wants to cut costs and attract more voters to tax elections, typically the lowest turnout races on a ballot.
“My intention is to have elections on a known date where the most people can turn out,” Riser says, adding that candidates with higher name recognition will help with that draw.
Etta Licciardi, vice president of the Jefferson Parish School Board, launched an argument on the behalf of residents, claiming that overloading the ballot would be a “travesty.” In Jefferson Parish, a recent half-cent sales tax was ushered in with just 10,000 votes; the parish has 260,000 registered voters.
“You really don’t want people voting,” says Sen. Mike Walsworth, a West Monroe Republican.
Tangipahoa Parish recently placed four tax initiatives on an April 30 ballot, when no other races were scheduled. Schedler says these kinds of elections cost major bucks. As a rule of thumb, he says, the per-precinct cost for an election is $1,350 to $1,500, plus an additional $15,000 or so for overtime and early voting. For Tangipahoa’s 87 participating precincts, that means a cost of $132,450 to taxpayers.
When considering the cost of special elections, there’s also the why. Fannin says the ever-increasing number of vacancies can be tied to term limits, the law that allows representatives and senators to serve for only three four-year terms. The law took hold in the 2007 election, and even more lawmakers are expected to come off the legislative roster this fall. Many made preemptive moves, taking government jobs back home or hustling an appointed gig with the state.
“There is a political side to all this,” Fannin says.
Inside the chambers, this has resulted in freshman lawmakers taking on big responsibilities. For example, Rep. Erich Ponti, a Baton Rouge Republican, started his term four years ago as vice chairman of the House Labor Committee and quickly worked his way up to chairman. Today, he’s raising money through a political action committee to make a bid for House speaker.
“That’s part of it,” says Ponti, who was responsible earlier this year for drafting Louisiana’s new congressional districts. “But I’ve been though a lot here, too. I have a record to run on.”
Then there’s the financial side. The Legislative Auditor’s Office calculated that if the 32 special legislative elections held between 2005 and 2010 had been consolidated, it would have saved the state between $12,000 and $137,000 per election. Based on the audit, indirect cost savings were also found in terms of salaries and overtime. The only other states that came close to Louisiana’s record were Florida with 26, Georgia with 22, Alabama with 19 and Tennessee with 16.
“Other states allow legislative vacancies to be filled with temporary appointments and in some cases restrict how close a special election can be held to a regular election date, thus eliminating the need for stand-alone special elections,” the audit says. “If the Legislature adopted laws similar to other states, all stand-alone special elections held between 2005 and 2010 could have been eliminated or reduced, resulting in cost savings.”
The case for slimming down local tax and bond elections, however, isn’t as strong. Local government officials are painting a sad story about how losing control of calling these kinds of elections limits their ability to address sudden needs. It was a yarn that didn’t stick to the wall during committee debate, but all of that can change as the full slate of lawmakers weighs in.
Still, voters later this fall will have the final say on how lawmakers react, when regularly scheduled elections won’t cost the state anything additional, and could cost lawmakers everything.
