Early Voter Turnout Remains Sky High
Early voter turnout remains far above expectations as approximately 250,000 Louisianans have cast their ballot for the October 12th primary.
We’ve had more early voters after just five days than in all of 2015 by 18,000 votes, but that may not mean a higher total turnout. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says 90 percent of ballots cast were cast by “chronic” voters, but those voters could inspire others to show up.
“When chronic voters turn out heavy that could lead to additional voters turning out on election day so we are going to watch it very closely,” said Ardoin.
An analysis of those voters by JMC Analytics shows higher than expected Republican voter turnout.
Early voting is a major priority this year with a sleight of college football games scheduled for election day October 12th. Ardoin says they’ve got some new voting tech to entice voters to show up ahead of time.
“I enjoyed the experience with the new machines, we have been getting a lot of compliments on them and I think that people feel good about it,” said Ardoin.
The new machines are Ipad like devices that are not connected to the internet and turn on when you slide a voter card into them.
Ardoin says at this point they aren’t sure what exactly is driving the massive surge in turnout but they’re glad it’s happening and he hopes everyone remembers to grab their “I Voted” sticker.
“I would have to admit that probably with the LSU game and numerous others around the state that folks have taken advantage of early voting, but I don’t think that is the major push here,” said Ardoin.