Times Picayune, September 15, 2010
Early voting for the Aug. 28 primary elections continues through Saturday. Photo from the Times Picayune.
Early voting for two statewide and hundreds of local and regional races opens Saturday but elections officials said Wednesday they expect the turnout to be light.
Early voting will be conducted at 81 sites statewide, including 13 in the New Orleans area.
The only statewide issues on the ballot are a special primary election for lieutenant governor to replace former Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who was sworn in as mayor of New Orleans in May, and two constitutional amendments.
Early voting runs for a week, through Sept. 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. No early voting is conducted on Sunday.
First Assistant Secretary of State Tom Schedler said he expects the turnout for early voting to be “light to moderate, but more to the light side.” He said the secretary of state’s office will have a better feel for the Oct. 2 turnout after the early voting period ends.
The election for lieutenant governor “is a low-visibility race” and will not draw a lot of voters like a governor’s election would, said Kirby Goidel, a professor of political science at Louisiana State University.
Schedler said there will be pockets of heavy voting such as in Jefferson Parish, where voters will choose a new parish president.
The only federal election on the ballot in the state is a Republican runoff for the 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from the New Orleans area to New Iberia, said Elections Commissioner Angie LaPlace.
She said that there is also a Public Service Commission seat in the New Orleans area, but 648 candidates are running for school board seats around the state and another 941 candidates are running in local and parish elections. Local charter changes and other proposition elections are also on the ballot.
The locations of the early voting sites in the New Orleans area are:
- Jefferson Parish — 1221 Elmwood Park Blvd., Room 502, Harahan; and 5001 West Bank Expressway, Room C-2, Marrero.
- Orleans Parish — 1300 Perdido St., Room 1W23; and 8870 Chef Menteur Hwy., both on the east bank of Orleans Parish; and 225 Morgan St., Room 105, Algiers.
- Plaquemines Parish — 28028 Louisiana 23, Room 107, Port Sulphur.
- St. Bernard Parish — 8201 W. Judge Perez Drive, Room 104, Chalmette.
- St. Charles Parish — 15045 River Road, Hahnville; and 14564 River Road (Arterbury Building), New Sarpy.
- St. John the Baptist Parish — 1801 W. Airline Hwy., Room 112, LaPlace, and 2293 River Road, Edgard.
- St. Tammany — 701 N. Columbia St., Covington, and 61134 Louisiana 1090, Slidell.
Reporter Ed Anderson can be reached at eanderson@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5810.
