Harlan Kirgan
Early voting for the Oct. 14 resumes at 8:30 a.m. today at the Eunice Municipal Complex.
The first-ever early voting was held Saturday at the second-floor St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court Office.
Early voting is held 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will continue Friday and Saturday.
St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court Charles Jagneaux said 27 people voted Saturday at Eunice. Another 49 people voted Saturday at the Registrar of Voters office in Opelousas.
Jagneaux said, “I had done the math and I knew Eunice traditionally had a good turnout, but with this early voting it kind of discouraged those people.”
Discouraging would-be Eunice early voters was the hour of driving time to vote in Opelousas, he said.
“It is going to be a big deal,” Jagneaux said about early voting in Eunice. I think it is going to increase the Eunice turnout by about eight to 10 percent,” he said.
As of Tuesday, 372 votes had been cast in St. Landry Parish.
In Acadia Parish, 409 early votes had been cast by the end of Tuesday.
Statewide, there had been 46,303 early votes cast at the end of Tuesday.
Early voting also continues at the Registrar of Voters office in the courthouse in Opelousas.
Early voting also is held in Acadia Parish from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday at the Registrar of Voters office, 568 NW Court Circle (on the courthouse grounds) in Crowley.
Voters may verify their current information by visiting the geauxvote.com, or call a registrar of voters office. In St. Landry Parish, the registrar’s office number is 337-948-0572. In Acadia Parish, the registrar’s number is 337-788-8841.
Proper identification for registering to vote is one of the following documents: a current Louisiana driver’s license or identification card, a birth certificate and/or a baptismal certificate.
One Oct. 14, voters will be asked to help choose the next state Treasurer to fill the unexpired term of John Kennedy, recently elected to the U.S. Senate.
Candidates include Republicans Angelle Davis, Terry Hughes, Neil Riser and John Schroder; Democrat Derrick Edwards; and Libertarian Joseph D. Little.
There are three proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot:
— Do you support an amendment to exempt from property taxes materials and other property delivered to a construction site to be made part of a building or other construction?
— Do you support an amendment to authorize an exemption from ad valorem property tax for the total assessed value of the homestead of an unmarried surviving spouse of a person who died while performing their duties as an emergency medical responder, technician, paramedic, volunteer firefighter, or a law enforcement or fire protection officer?
— Do you support an amendment that would dedicate any new tax levied on gasoline, diesel, and special fuels into the Construction Subfund, which solely shall be used for project delivery, construction, and maintenance of transportation and capital transit infrastructure projects and not for funding for the payment of employee wages and related benefits or employee retirement benefits?
Proper identification is required during early voting. Voters are urged to bring a current Louisiana driver’s license or identification card and voter identification card.
Voters who require assistance during early voting or when they go to their voting precincts on election day are required to bring a physician’s certificate or excuse stating the reason they need assistance. This document is to be given to the registrar or to the commissioner in charge to be delivered to the registrar.