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Early voting in Louisiana: More than 250,000 votes cast already
More than a quarter million Louisianians have already cast their ballots for the Nov. 3 presidential election. According to data from the Louisiana secretary of state’s office, a total of 258,017 residents had voted by the end of the day Saturday. That total includes the number of people who showed up to vote in person […]
Republican ‘hyper partisan’ attempt to curtail governor’s power could decrease access to the polls
When state Sen. Sharon Hewitt was taking questions from her Senate colleagues Oct. 1 about a bill she’d drafted to weaken the governor’s role in establishing an emergency election plan, Sen. Regina Barrow asked Hewitt point blank, “Is this a method to try to suppress the vote?” Though Hewitt, a Slidell Republican, had previously expressed […]
2020 Census count to end for good Thursday, Oct. 15
After a protracted court fight over how long American residents should be counted for the 2020 Census, a Tuesday order from the U.S. Supreme Court means all counting will end Thursday. Of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, Louisiana ranks dead last in the percentage of households counted, the only one […]
Appeal of Louisiana’s emergency election rules comes too late to change Nov. 3 rules
In a move that has the potential to confuse Louisiana residents who will start voting Friday for president, the U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry on Tuesday appealed a federal judge’s ruling that establishes the emergency rules for that election. However, the appeal will […]
Nursing home-visitation bill addresses a real problem in a problematic way
Hours before my mother died I spoonfed her vanilla ice cream. Sprinkled into the dessert was a vitamin she’d been refusing to take. But I pleaded with her. I asked her to please take it — if only for me — and though she had stopped opening her mouth to talk, she eventually opened up […]
COVID-19, Laura and Delta: Louisiana juggles ongoing and upcoming crises
Gov. John Bel Edwards prefaced a Tuesday afternoon press conference by saying he’d talk a bit about Laura, a bit about COVID-19 and a lot about Hurricane Delta, providing a stark reminder that Louisiana is recovering from one disaster while still experiencing another and bracing itself for one yet to come. Edwards said Louisiana’s 2020 […]
Louisiana lawmakers need to acknowledge that COVID-19 is still with us
When Republican members of the Louisiana House Health, Education and Welfare committee argued with two of the state’s top public health experts Wednesday, they were illustrating the contempt much of the American public has developed for experts and their expertise. Jimmy Guidry, the state public health officer, and Joseph Kanter, the assistant state health officer, […]
Bill reducing governor’s say on emergency election plans passes Louisiana Senate
The Louisiana Senate passed a bill Thursday that greatly reduces the say the governor has in approving an emergency election plan. The legislation passed the bill introduced by Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, with a 22-12 vote. The vote follows a contentious battle over the current COVID-19 emergency election plan with Gov. John Bel Edwards on […]
Census deadline extension means Louisiana has more time to be counted
Louisiana residents and residents throughout the country will have at least until Monday to respond to the 2020 Census — and maybe longer. A federal judge in Northern California ruled last week that the U.S. Census Bureau must continue its counting operation through the end of October, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — who […]
Former Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster enters hospice
Former Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster, 90, has entered hospice care, according to multiple news reports. Jeremy Alford, the publisher of LaPoliticsWeekly, tweeted Monday that Foster, the 53rd governor of the state, was a terminal patient and that members of his family “extend their continued gratitude for the prayers & well wishes.” Shortly thereafter, Gov. John […]
Louisiana Republicans vie to take over state’s COVID-19 response
Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, has recently traveled to multiple college campuses in the South and praised the leadership of campus or state officials who she says have been helping keep the public safe. On Monday, Birx visited Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and on Tuesday she […]
Hurricane Laura didn’t knock McNeese State out
Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm that made landfall in Southwest Louisiana Aug. 27, thoroughly devastated McNeese State University and caused about $200 million in damage, Daryl Burckell, the university’s president, told the Louisiana Senate Education Committee at a Wednesday hearing. “All parts of the institution were affected and impacted,” Burckel said. “From our academic […]