Americans will head to the polls this Tuesday to vote in the 2024 election, deciding on a multitude of local and statewide contests as well as the race for president of the United States. Here is what the LSU community needs to know about the election.
How to Vote
To vote on Election Day, a person must first be registered to vote in the state and municipality in which they reside. Deadlines to register vary by state with some offering same-day registration on Election Day, but Louisiana’s voter registration window for the Nov. 5 election has already closed.
Upon registering to vote in Louisiana, a voter information card will be mailed out identifying the voter’s assigned polling place on Election Day. This location can also be found on the Secretary of State’s website, and it will be open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. come Nov. 5. Anybody in line by 8 p.m. has the right to cast their ballot.
Louisiana residents who missed the voter registration deadline for the Nov. 5 election can still register for the state’s Dec. 7 congressional general election.
Federal Candidates
This election will be headlined by the presidential candidates, primarily the Democratic Nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Nominee former President Donald Trump. The race is highly competitive, and recent polling has found the two in a dead-lock for the 270 electoral votes required to become president.
Other federal office-seekers will vary by state, with some voters having an option to cast a vote for a candidate for the United States Senate and all having the chance to elect a candidate to the United States House of Representatives.
There’s no senate race in Louisiana this year, but the Baton Rouge area will help decide two house races for Louisiana’s 5th and 6th congressional districts, represented by Republicans Julia Letlow and Garret Graves respectively.
Only Letlow is running for reelection in her district, which includes LSU, and she is expected to win handily over opponents Republican Vinnie Mendoza and Democrat Michael Vallien Jr.
From the community of Start, just outside of Monroe, Letlow’s district didn’t previously contain anywhere in the Baton Rouge area until the most recent redistricting. However, she has since fully embraced the new communities she hopes to represent, even holding her election night party in Tiger Stadium, the first of its kind in the venue’s history.
The race for the 6th District is one of the more closely watched races in Louisiana, for this election will be its first after being redrawn to be the state’s new second majority Black congressional district. Former Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields is the favorite to win and is in competition with Former Republican State Sen. Elbert Guillory and Democrats Quintin Anthony Anderson, Wilkin Jones and Peter Williams.
The district’s new voter base leans heavily Democratic, and is the only Louisiana seat that is expected to flip parties this cycle.
Statewide Ballot Measure
There is only one statewide ballot measure for the Nov. 5 election in Louisiana, appropriately titled Amendment 1. The Amendment aims to direct federal renewable energy revenues towards protecting the state’s vulnerable coast.
If passed, Amendment 1 would dedicate a certain portion of the future revenue Louisiana will receive from Outer Continental Shelf renewable energy production to the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund.
The Outer Continental Shelf refers to the offshore waters that are controlled by the United States federal government but do not fall under the jurisdiction of individual U.S. states. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund refers to the constitutionally protected fund that provides for projects to protect Louisiana’s quickly receding coast.
If Amendment 1 is rejected, the shelf’s funding will go to the state’s “general fund” — a funding source that the state legislature is free to allocate to any department in its annual spending bill.
The amendment will either be passed or rejected in its entirety.
Baton Rouge Mayor-President Election
Baton Rouge residents are set to elect a new mayor-president, who heads both East Baton Rouge Parish and the City of Baton Rouge. The most recent mayor-president poll showed Ted James leading with 29%, one point above incumbent Sharon Weston Broome. Sid Edwards polled third with 22%, and the other candidates were projected to garner a total of 5% of the parish’s votes.
Democrat Sharon Weston Broome is looking to win a third and final term, in which she hopes to continue construction projects she has begun in the previous eight years, including the transformation of the Raising Cane’s River Center into a hotel and conference center. She also hopes to begin a new riverfront development project to highlight the Mississippi River.
Broome started out on the Metropolitan Council, moving on to serve in both the State Senate and House of Representatives. Having now served two full terms as mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish, she said “no other candidate has that experience” in a statement to the Reveille.
Former State Rep. Ted James is running for mayor-president with a vision for the city-parish that includes investing in small businesses to stimulate economic growth. Previously, James served as the regional administrator for the Small Business Association. In this position, he saw how other cities were managed and was devastated to come home and see Baton Rouge “stagnant.” He hopes to change that through economic development and a commitment to improving education and public safety.
In regards to St. George, the newly-defined city from Baton Rouge, James wants to work cooperatively with the new city, saying as someone who has experience working with people he doesn’t always agree with, he is the best for leading the transition.
James earned the Baton Rouge Democratic Party’s endorsement over Broome.
Republican Sid Edwards is well-known in Baton Rouge not for politics, but rather for his position as the Istrouma High School dean of students and head football coach. As mayor-president he hopes to curb crime by increasing the funding for police and improving the parish’s infrastructure, a combination he says will lead to economic development in Baton Rouge.
He faced criticism for not voting in the past 25 elections, saying he was “tired of the corruption” at a mayoral candidate debate and forum.
Republican Steve Myers is running for mayor-president with a low-budget campaign, appealing to undecided voters. He takes the “everyman” approach, emphasizing issues like crime and infrastructure. He also advocates for more transparency in the city and parish governance.
Myers, a lawyer in Baton Rouge, has run in multiple area race elections as both a Democrat and a Republican. If elected, he only desires one term in office and is in support of separating mayor-president into two positions – a parish president and a mayor for the city of Baton Rouge.
Nathaniel Hearn, Ryan “Bad Bidness” Carter and Champagne Roundtree are also running for the mayor-president’s office. They currently poll to secure under 2% of the vote. Hearn aims to improve the parish budget, especially as it relates to law enforcement and increase transparency within the parish government. Carter campaigns for better programs for the parish’s poorest residents and improving Baton Rouge’s public transportation system. Roundtree wants to keep young professionals in the city by increasing culture and the city’s nightlife scene while further cooperating with St. George’s government.
Home Rule Charter Amendment Proposition
Baton Rouge residents have several propositions to vote on locally, with one set to significantly reshape the city-parish government. The Home Rule Charter Amendment focuses on changing the Plan of Government, which was enacted in 1949. If enacted, the amendment would lead to hundreds of changes in the organization of the parish’s government, including the creation of a new city-parish manager position and the removal of restrictions on council members’ salaries.
Section 4.08 of the amendment provides for the creation of a city-parish manager office. The position will replace the chief administrative officer position, currently occupied by Dante Bidwell.
The amendment stipulates that the CPM must be nominated by the mayor-president and approved by the Metro Council. Under current rules, the CAO is appointed by the mayor-president. This election, there are some Metro Council seats for re-election.
The CPM will also be required to have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree in a management-related field. Dante Bidwell has earned no such degree, though he did serve as Broome’s Chief of Staff for nearly two years.
Two mayoral candidates — Broome and James — have criticized the proposed change, arguing that the mayor-president should have the power to name the CPM to his post.
The amendment, if passed, will also allow members of the Metro Council to create their own salary after a majority vote. Currently, members are paid a fixed salary of $1,000 per month.
This figure is significantly lower than the average pay for city council members in other American cities. ZipRecruiter estimates that the median monthly salary for a city council member in America is $2,283 per month — more than double what Metro Council members are currently paid.
If passed, the ordinance would take effect no sooner than January 2029.
The amendment will either be passed or rejected entirely. More information on the amendment can be found on the city’s website.
Louisiana voters can find a sample ballot that will include all measures they can vote on at the Secretary of State’s website by inputting their parish, ward and precinct.
This post was originally published on here
