Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced this morning, considering the current state of affairs, that the upcoming elections will be postponed.
Ardoin says the safety of the voters and poll workers are at the forefront of the decision to delay the April 4th election to June 20th. Ardoin says the state has 3-million registered voters that vote at more than two-thousand polling locations across the state.
“(speaking on Louisiana’s election day commissioners) Over half are 65 and older. Of those 2,000 polling locations, 32 are in nursing homes, senior citizens or other locations associated with a senior population,” says Ardoin
Ardoin met with the Governor’s Office, Unified Command Group and Health officials and the consensus was reached that delaying the April 4th elections was in the best interest of all parties and the safety of the public.
“The two-month delay of this election will allow our office to continue to procure necessary supplies to put our state in the best possible posture for the time when this election is conducted,” says Ardoin.
The last time the state delayed an election was after Katrina, however, the timing of the storm gave election officials ample time.
“We had six months or more to prepare for an election around the country, so we can pull off an election after a disaster, however, we must have to more than 30 or 60 days,” says Ardoin.
If officials feel that June is not ideal, they will revisit the current decision.