After one day of early voting, the number of mail-in ballots for the March 23rd presidential primary is the third highest in Louisiana’s election history. The November 2020 Presidential race and the 2022 Senate primary were first and second respectively. JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon said when the pandemic eased the rules for those 65 and older to vote by mail…
“That suggests that you have people who that mail ballot hits their mailbox and its sitting on their kitchen table they’re going to vote it out of habit,” said Couvillon.
The volume of mail-in voting for this primary is 17% higher than it was on the first day of the 2020 primary which was in July, not March. The dates were pushed twice due to COVID-surges.
Couvillon said considering this Presidential primary is “low wattage” with a few local elections thrown in, mail-in voting is higher than the 2020 Presidential primary…
“So, for the fact that mail-in voting went up, even over 2020, for a low-wattage election cycle that is kind of interesting to me,” said Couvillon.
He said it suggests that mail-in voting is a trend that’s here to stay.
The total first-day turnout for early voting was 75,615 (56,274 by mail and 19,341 in person.
The deadline for mail-in ballots to be turned in for this Presidential Primary is March 22 so it’s possible it could eclipse the 2022 Senate primary for mail-in votes. Couvillon said mail-in ballots for the November 2020 election were significantly greater than the 2022 Senate primary.
“So theoretically what is going on right now can leapfrog ahead of the Senate rate in 2022, but I’m not personally counting on it happening,” said Couvillon.
Caddo Parish has the highest number of mail-in votes this primary with a high-profile sheriff’s race that was contested in the fall.
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