Early voter numbers could be good sign
Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, November 6, 2019
The success of early voting in Louisiana should encourage legislators and election officials to consider increasing the number of available polling places in the future. Early voters went to the polls in record numbers on the first day for the Nov. 16 runoffs.
The secretary of state’s office counted 89,623 early voters on the first day, which is 2,500 more voters than during the 2016 presidential election. The Advocate said that was the benchmark, and faith-based groups around the state might have contributed to the increase.
Black faith leaders in Baton Rouge met last week to formulate plans to get people to the polls and registered for elections to come. The general election is headed by the runoffs for governor and secretary of state, and also includes legislative runoffs, the election of local officials and local propositions.
Organizers of getting “Souls to the Polls” became active after the low African-American turnout for the Oct. 12 primary. The faith leaders are emphasizing the fact that earlier obstacles to voting — poll taxes, literacy tests and other bureaucratic restrictions — no longer exist because of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The Advocate reported that four areas showed dramatic increases. The early voting numbers for the first day were up 87 percent in New Orleans, 77 percent in Alexandria, 57 percent in Baton Rouge and double the earlier numbers in Shreveport. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards did well in those areas in the primary.
John Couvillon, a Baton Rouge pollster with JMC Analytics and Polling, told the newspaper he had studied early voting trends for years. He said the first returns show higher turnout for whites and Republicans, but the most dramatic jump was among black voters and Democrats.
The newspaper said the numbers represent just the first day of early voting and the numbers could change dramatically during the rest of the early voting period that ends Saturday and on election day Nov. 16.
Republican Eddie Rispone, who faces Edwards in the runoff, is getting help from President Trump in his bid to oust the only Democratic governor in the South. The Democratic voter turnout on the first day was 45 percent, compared to 39 percent for the Republicans. The percentage of voters in other categories was down 11 percent from the primary.
Only 46 percent of the state’s 2.9 million voters participated in the Oct. 12 primary. However, Republican and Democratic voters are obviously more engaged in early voting for the general election, and that is encouraging.
In this file photo, residents cast their votes at A.A. Nelson Elementary in Lake Charles, La., Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. (Rick Hickman/Lake Charles American Press)
