Panel says no to ‘independent’ on ballot

Published 1:35 pm Thursday, March 24, 2016

BATON ROUGE — The House and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday rejected legislation that would allow candidates to be labeled as “independent” on election ballots.

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The panel deferred House Bill 563, by Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard, I-Thibodaux. Richard said the bill was not intended to establish an independent party, but to allow candidates to have the word “independent” placed on a ballot in lieu of a political party affiliation.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Louisiana now has five recognized political parties that can be listed for a candidate: Republican, Democrat, Green, Reform and Libertarian. Candidates who aren’t affiliated with those parties may put “other” or “no party” on a ballot.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Kyle Ardoin, first assistant secretary of state, said that if the bill was approved, it could cause confusion for voters. The Legislature last year did away with the prohibition on allowing for an independent party, but an independent party has yet to be established.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“You would be creating a situation for a Republican, a Democrat, Green Party, Reform or Libertarian to be able to put ‘independent’ behind their name, which is not how they are registered to vote,” Ardoin said.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He said the state has 10,000 voters registered as independent.</span>

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