By Randy Brown, Bossier Press-Tribune
Louisiana voters went to the polls once again on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 to cast their ballots in the 2023 Louisiana General Election, slightly over one month after voting in the Louisiana Gubernatorial Primary in October. Following the October 14 primary election, there were runoffs in several statewide political races.
In the Saturday November 18 election, voters statewide cast their ballots in three statewide political runoff elections. All of these races were for open seats, as Treasurer John Schroder ran for governor and did not seek re-election and Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin did not seek re-election. Attorney General Jeff Landry did not seek re-election and was elected governor of Louisiana outright (without a runoff) in the October 14 election.
In the race for Louisiana Treasurer, Republican John Fleming of Minden faced off against Democrat Dustin Granger. The statewide results for this race show that Fleming won this race by a margin of 65% (437,303 votes) to 35% (230,961 votes). In the race for Louisiana Secretary of State, Republican Nancy Landry faced off against Democrat Gwen Collins-Greenup. The statewide results for this race show that Landry won this race by a margin of 67% (446,038 votes) to 33% (221,698 votes). And in the race for Louisiana Attorney General, Republican Liz Murrill faced off against Democrat Lindsey Cheek. The statewide results for this race show that Murrill won this race by a margin of 66% (444,081 votes) to 34% (225,011 votes).
Statewide, there were also four new constitutional amendments on Saturday’s ballot.
Amendment 1: Allows lawmakers to try to override a governor’s bill rejections without calling a separate veto session if they are already in a legislative session and add further details about the deadlines for a governor to veto bills. This amendment passed statewide by a margin of 61% (386,854 votes) to 39% (247,131 votes).
Amendment 2: Removes six inactive funds with zero or near-zero balances from the Louisiana Constitution. This amendment passed statewide by a margin of 55% (346,492 votes) to 45% (286,997 votes).
Amendment 3: Allows a parish governing authority to give an extra property tax exemption to police, firefighters and certain other first responders who own homes and live in the parish. This amendment passed statewide by a margin of 53% (338,560 votes) to 47% (300,250 votes).
Amendment 4: Tightens the rules on allowed use of a seven-year-old state trust fund that collects dollars from corporate tax collections and oil and gas production in Louisiana. This amendment failed statewide by a margin of 56% (353,373 votes) to 44% (277,770 votes).
In the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) District 4 runoff election between Republican Stacey Melerine and Democrat Emma Shepard, Melerine was elected as the new BESE District 4 representative. BESE District 4 is a 10 parish district covering: Caddo, Bossier, Webster, DeSoto, Red River, Bienville, Sabine, Natchitoches, Winn and Vernon parishes. Districtwide results for this race show that Stacey Melerine won the BESE District 4 seat by a margin of 62% (56,792 votes) to 38% (34,365 votes).
And finally, there was a runoff election for State Senate District 39 which covers a large portion of Caddo Parish and a small portion of Bossier Parish. In the runoff election for Senate District 39 between Democrats Cedric Glover and Sam Jenkins, Jenkins was elected by a margin of 65% (11,814 votes) to 35% (6,271 votes).
Early voting for this election was held November 4-11. Unofficial statewide voter turnout for this election averaged around 22%.
