UPDATE: Elections Postponed in Louisiana

UPDATE:

Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin has confirmed in a statement that the fall elections will be postponed. Below you can see the text of his announcement:

Baton Rouge, LA – Today, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced that Governor John Bel Edwards has agreed with his recommendation to reschedule the fall 2021 elections in light of the devastation brought on by Hurricane Ida.

“I am thankful that the Governor has recognized the importance of our recommendation to move the October 9 election to November 13 and the November 13 election to December 11,” Secretary Ardoin said. “This will allow our staff and local partners more time to properly prepare for a statewide election while ensuring the integrity of our election processes and that our voters’ traditional voting habits are as undisturbed as possible.”

Further announcements including an emergency certification and election-related deadlines are forthcoming.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Yesterday Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin met to discuss the October 9th election in the state. The issue was not so much the election as it was the date of the election. You see, there are many who feel that the southeastern portion of the state which sustained horrific damage due to Hurricane Ida might not be ready to logistically hold an election when October the 9th rolls around.

Governor Edwards addressed concerns about the elections saying for many residents of the state in comments reported by the Louisiana Radio Network.

A lot of it has to do with the electricity being out, especially in these parishes where we’re not sure if it’s going to be back or not in time for early voting and so forth and the displaced population

Although there has been a lot of progress in getting electricity restored to many areas of the state damaged by the storm. There are still going to be communities that might not see the lights come on for several weeks. 

Another issue Governor Edwards and Secretary Ardoin discussed was mail service in the affected areas of the state. There are still some places in Louisiana where mail deliveries are still not being made or have been delayed.

The thinking right now is that postponing the October 9th election one month to November 13th will give those areas of the state damaged by Hurricane Ida more time to restore power, ensure proper mail service, and rebuild and restore polling places where necessary.

Should the decision to postpone the October 9th election be made. This will also affect deadlines for registration. The change in date will naturally affect early voting too. And should there be a need for a runoff, those elections would have to be postponed as well.

In the upcoming October 9th election there are three legislative seats on the ballot. The City of New Orleans will also choose a mayor. And, there are two Constitutional Amendments on the ballot as well.

While Governor Edwards and Secretary Ardoin met yesterday, there was no decision made on whether to postpone the election or not. However, Governor Edwards did suggest that a decision would be made soon.