Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced Wednesday that Gove. John Bel Edwards has agreed with his recommendation to reschedule the fall 2021 elections in light of the devastation brought on by Hurricane Ida.
“I am thankful that the Governor has recognized the importance of our recommendation to move the October 9 election to November 13 and the November 13 election to December 11,” Ardoin said. “This will allow our staff and local partners more time to properly prepare for a statewide election while ensuring the integrity of our election processes and that our voters’ traditional voting habits are as undisturbed as possible.”
Ardoin met with Edwards Tuesday and requested that the the October 9 election be rescheduled for November 13 and the November 13 election moved to December 11.
“With a number of deadlines forthcoming, such as voter registration deadlines, and early voting set to commence in less than three weeks, I am calling on Governor Edwards to approve rescheduling the October 9 and November 13 elections,” Ardoin said. “A number of issues stemming from Hurricane Ida’s devastation, including questions about nursing home operations, postal service delivery, extensive power outages, polling location damages, and election commissioners and staff members still displaced, would make holding the election on its original dates virtually impossible without impairing the integrity of the election.”
A number of local election officials and civic groups have expressed support for rescheduling the October 9 and November 13 elections.
