Louisiana Primary Elections Delayed Due to Hurricane Ida
Louisiana was set to hold primaries in October, however, Hurricane Ida had other plans.
PrImaries getting delayed is nothing new for us in Louisiana. Of course, Mother Nature had nothing to do with 2020's primaries getting delayed substantially, unless you blame Mother nature's wind for spreading around COVID-19 like it was going out of style.
Mother Nature is most certainly to blame for 2021's delay, however. We're now more than a week removed from Hurricane Ida's wrath, and Louisiana is still trying to put our pieces back together. Naturally, with so many Louisianians still displaced, and the governor requesting that everyone stay where they are at for the time being, elections are the very last thing on our minds.
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s plan will move our upcoming October 9th primary to November the 13th. The election originally planned for November 13th has been moved to mid-December.
Ardoin says, "When 42% of all of your voters are affected by a major storm, the strongest that’s hit since the 1800s, we have to do something. Folks are focused on shelter and food."
I believe he perfectly hit the nail on the head.
Ardoin also spoke about how many citizens and civic groups reached out to him in an effort to sway him to postpone the election. Naturally, he said there was push-back against the idea as well, from candidates and advertisers. He says, "My job is to focus on what’s best for the voters, and how we make sure that our elections are fair, accurate, transparent, and integrity is of the utmost importance.”