Early voting begins Friday, continues through Nov. 10 for runoff election

By Dominic Massa

Source: WWL-TV

November 2, 2017

Early voting begins Friday across the state for the Nov. 18 election, with the runoffs for New Orleans mayor and two city council seats drawing the most attention, along with a statewide race for treasurer and other local tax issues on the ballot.

Early voting begins Friday, Nov. 3 and will continue through Nov. 11 (except for Sunday, Nov. 5 and Friday, Nov. 10) from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. at your parish Registrar of Voters office. There will be no voting on Nov. 10 because of the Veterans Day holiday.

“Because Friday, Nov. 10 is Veterans Day, which is a holiday recognized by the state, we must push early voting up one day to accommodate voters not losing a day to cast their ballot,” said Secretary of State Tom Schedler in a news release.

For details on early voting locations in various parishes, click here.

For a sample ballot for your precinct, click here for information from the Secretary of State’s office.

In Orleans Parish, the early voting locations are: City Hall, 1300 Perdido St., Room #1W24; the Algiers Courthouse, 225 Morgan St., Room 105; the Voting Machine Warehouse, 8870 Chef Menteur Hwy.; and the Lake Vista Community Center, 6500 Spanish Fort Blvd., 2nd floor meeting room.

City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell and former Municipal Court Judge Desiree Charbonnet are in a heated runoff for New Orleans mayor. It is the only citywide election on the November ballot. There is a runoff for the District B City Council seat, between Jay Banks and Seth Bloom. Voters in District E will also decide a runoff there, between incumbent City Councilman James Gray and Cyndi Nguyen. There is also a runoff in the race for a seat on Orleans Parish Civil District Court.

Voters statewide will elect a new state treasurer, with John Schroder and Derrick Edwards in the race to replace John Kennedy, who was elected to the U.S. Senate. There is also a race to decide who will replace Schroder, who stepped down from a seat in the state House of Representatives to run for treasurer. There is a runoff for District 77, which covers areas of Covington, Madisonville and Folsom. Rob Maness and Mark Wright are in the runoff for that seat.

Tax issues are on the ballot in several parishes. In Orleans Parish, voters will decide whether to establish the Savings Fund of the City of New Orleans in the City’s home rule charter. According to the Bureau of Governmental Research, the Savings Fund would set aside a portion of the City’s general financial reserve, or Fund Balance, for emergencies and other financial crises. The City Council would have to maintain the Saving Fund’s balance at an amount equal to 5% of the City’s average recurring General Fund expenditures for the previous five years. Currently, this amount is about $27 million. Read BGR’s analysis of the proposal here.

Voters in Jefferson Parish will consider a new parishwide, 8.45-mill property tax, proposed by the School Board. Ther 10 year tax, beginning in 2018, would yield approximately $27.9 million in the initial year to increase the pay of teachers and other employees. The Bureau of Governmental Reseach has an analysis of the proposal here.

For a sample ballot for your precinct, click here for information from the Secretary of State’s office.

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