There’s more to the ballot than the presidential race

Published 8:00 am Sunday, November 1, 2020

With a pandemic going on, a hurricane season that seemingly won’t stop and an ongoing economic crisis, it stands to figure that the Teche Area would also end up facing one of the weirdest election cycles ever.

Welcome to 2020.

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For the first time, more than 14,000 early and absentee votes were cast in Iberia Parish. In St. Martin Parish there were more than 13,000, and more than 10,000 in St. Mary Parish.

So the usual pre-election coverage is a little late this year. More than a third of the votes in the last presidential election in the Teche Area are already cast.

Then again, that means more than two-thirds aren’t. And there are a few things that might need explaining, especially in the area of constitutional amendments on the ballot.

Most voters know there is a race for president, but may not be aware there are more than two candidates. So don’t be surprised when you see a list of 13 candidates. Most you may have never heard of, but they have qualified to run in Louisiana. Including Kanye West and his Birthday Party.

There are also two national legislative races, one for U.S. Senate, the other for U.S. Representative from District 3. In the Senate race, incumbent Bill Cassidy faces a field of 14 challengers including Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, while incumbent Rep. Clay Higgins is facing a smaller field of three challengers — Rob Anderson, Braylon Harris and Brandon LeLeux.

The dominant Teche Area races, though, center on the 16th Judicial District Court. In addition to the race for district attorney between incumbent Bo Duhé and former 16th JDC Judge Lori Landry, there are two judicial races, one for Division F between St. Martinville attorney Keith Thibodeaux, New Iberia attorney Natalie Broussard and current 16th JDC Assistant District Attorney Anthony “Tony” Saleme and Landry’s former Division H seat, where 15th JDC Assistant DA Roger Hamilton, New Iberia attorney Thailund “Tai” Porter-Green and New Iberia attorney Alicia Butler will face off.

Two city marshal races are on the ballot as well. One, in New Iberia, pits incumbent Tony Migues against his previous challenger Brett Lang and former police officer Corey Porter. In Jeanerette, incumbent Fernest “PacMan” Martin faces two challengers, Terrance “Big Moe” Moore and Samuel Wise III.

New Iberia voters will also be choosing city council members. Businessman and artist Paul Schexnayder, former Iberia Parish Councilman Ricky Gonsoulin and former New Iberia City Councilman David Merrill are vying for the Mayor Pro Tem seat. In District 2, voters will choose between incumbent Marlon “Marlo” Lewis and Benjamin T. Meyers. In District 4, incumbent Deidre Ledbetter is pitted against challenger Robert “Bob” Titus II. And in District 5, incumbent Sherry Guidry faces a challenge from business woman “Deedy” Johnson-Reid.

There are seven issues voters will decide, or finish deciding, on Nov. 3. They are:

CA 1: This amendment is basically an up or down vote on abortion rights in the state. A vote for the amendment means you do not believe the state constitution protects the right to abortion. A vote against means you believe the constitution is silent on the issue.

CA 2 allows for the status of an oil well — whether it is producing or not — to be considered in valuing it for tax assessment. A vote against the measure would leave assessment standards the way they are.

CA 3 would allow the Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as the “rainy day” fund, to also be used for natural disasters. A vote against would mean it will still only be used for revenue shortfalls.

CA 4 would change the way the state estimates revenue for the coming year, making it more conservative. A vote against would leave the current method in place.

CA 5 Is a tough one. It would allow, if passed, for local and parish governments to allow manufacturing businesses to make lump-sum payments in lieu of taxes. A vote against the amendment would leave the current process, which requires buy-in from multiple levels of government, to remain in place.

CA 6 would give people with higher incomes the ability to take part in the property tax assessment freeze available to lower income homeowners. Voting against the amendment would leave the current plan in place.

Finally, CA 7 would set up a trust fund for any unclaimed monies that the state treasury may hold. In recent years, that money has been used to help offset budget shortfalls. The amendment would prevent that use in the future.

There is also a parish-by-parish item to either allow or prevent off-track betting on the ballot.

The polls in Louisiana open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and will close at 8 p.m. Remember that in order to vote you will need to have a driver’s license; a Louisiana Special ID; an LA Wallet digital driver’s license; a United States military identification card that contains the applicant’s name and picture; or some other generally recognized picture ID that contains your name and signature.

For more information, including a sample ballot for your precinct and other election day requirements, go to www.geauxvote.com

Presidential Electors (Select 1)

☐Joseph R. Biden, Kamala Harris (D)

☐Jo Jorgensen, Jeremy Cohen (L)

☐Donald J. Trump, Michael Pence (R)

☐Brian Carroll, Amar Patel (American Solidarity Party)

☐Jade Simmons, Claudeliah Roze (Becoming One Nation)

☐President Boddie,Eric Stoneham (C.U.P.)

☐Don Blankenship, William Mohr (Constitution Party)

☐Brock Pierce, Karla Ballard (Freedom and Prosperity)

☐Tom Hoefling, Andy Prior (Life, Liberty, Constitution)

☐Gloria La Riva, Sunil Freeman (Socialism and Liberation)

☐Alyson Kennedy,Malcolm Jarrett (Socialist Workers Party)

☐Kanye West, Michelle Tidball (The Birthday Party)

☐Bill Hammons, Eric Bodenstab (Unity Party America)

U. S. Senator (Select 1)

☐Beryl Billiot #1 (NP)

☐John Paul Bourgeois #2 (NP)

☐”Bill” Cassidy #3 (R)

☐Reno Jean Daret, III #4 (NP)

☐Derrick “Champ” Edwards #5 (D)

☐”Xan” John #6 (Other)

☐David Drew Knight #7 (D)

☐M.V. “Vinny” Mendoza #8 (I)

☐Jamar Montgomery #9 (NP)

☐Dustin Murphy #10 (R)

☐Adrian Perkins #11 (D)

☐Antoine Pierce #12 (D)

☐Melinda Mary Price #13 (Other)

☐Aaron C. Sigler #14 (L)

☐Peter Wenstrup #15 (D)

U. S. Representative 3rd Congressional District (Select 1)

☐”Rob” Anderson #25 (D)

☐Braylon Harris #26 (D)

☐Clay Higgins #27 (R)

☐Brandon LeLeux #28 (L)

District Judge 16th Judicial District Court, ES 2, Div. F (Select 1)

NOTICE: This ballot item is in only part of the parish; depending on your address, you might not be eligible to vote on this item. If you need further information, contact your Registrar of Voters.

☐Natalie Broussard #75 (R)

☐Anthony “Tony” Saleme #76 (R)

☐Keith E. Thibodeaux #77 (R)

District Judge 16th Judicial District Court, ES 1, Div. H (Select 1)

☐”Alicia” Butler #72 (D)

☐Roger P. Hamilton, Jr. #73 (I)

☐Thailund “Tai” Porter-Green #74 (D)

District Attorney 16th Judicial District Court (Select 1)

☐”Bo” Duhe #78 (R)

☐Lori Landry #79 (D)

City Marshal City Court, City of Jeanerette (Select 1)

NOTICE: This ballot item is only for voters registered in the city of Jeanerette; depending on your address, you might not be eligible to vote on this item. If you need further information, contact your Registrar of Voters.

☐Fernest “Pac Man” Martin #80 (D)

☐Terrance “Big Moe” Moore #81 (D)

☐Samuel Wise, III #82 (D)

City Marshal City Court, City of New Iberia (Select 1)

NOTICE: This ballot item is only for voters registered in the city of New Iberia; depending on your address, you might not be eligible to vote on this item. If you need further information, contact your Registrar of Voters.

☐Brett Lang #83 (NP)

☐”Tony” Migues #84 (R)

☐Corey Porter #85 (D)

Council Member at Large, City of New Iberia (Select 1)

NOTICE: This ballot item is only for voters registered in the city of New Iberia; depending on your address, you might not be eligible to vote on this item. If you need further information, contact your Registrar of Voters.

☐Ricky Gonsoulin #90 (R)

☐David Merrill #91 (D)

☐Paul Schexnayder #92 (I)

Council Member District 2, City of New Iberia (Select 1)

NOTICE: This ballot item is only for voters registered in Council District 2 of the city of New Iberia; depending on your address, you might not be eligible to vote on this item. If you need further information, contact your Registrar of Voters.

☐Marlon “Marlo” Lewis #93 (D)

☐Benjamin T. Meyers #94 (I)

Council Member District 4, City of New Iberia (Select 1)

NOTICE: This ballot item is only for voters registered in Council District 4 of the city of New Iberia; depending on your address, you might not be eligible to vote on this item. If you need further information, contact your Registrar of Voters.

☐Deidre Ledbetter #95 (D)

☐Robert “Bob” Titus, II #96 (I)

Council Member District 5, City of New Iberia (Select 1)

NOTICE: This ballot item is only for voters registered in Council District 5 of the city of New Iberia; depending on your address, you might not be eligible to vote on this item. If you need further information, contact your Registrar of Voters.

☐Sherry Guidry #97 (D)

☐”Deedy” Johnson-Reid #98 (D)

Constitutional amendments:

CA NO. 1 (ACT 447, 2019 – HB 425) – Relating to Declaring There Is No Right to and No Funding of Abortion in the Louisiana Constitution (Select 1)

☐YES

☐NO

CA NO. 2 (ACT 368 – HB 360) – Amends Determination of Fair Market Value of Oil or Gas Well (Select 1)

☐YES

☐NO

CA NO. 3 (Act 367 – HB 267) – Amends Use of Budget Stabilization Fund (Select 1)

☐YES

☐NO

CA NO. 4 (ACT 366 – HB 464) – Limits Expenditure Limit for State General Fund (Select 1)

☐YES

☐NO

CA NO. 5 (ACT 370 – SB 272) – Authorizes Cooperative Endeavor Tax Exemptions (Select 1)

☐YES

☐NO

CA NO. 6 (ACT 369 – HB 525) – Increases Income Limit for Homestead Exemption Special Assessment Level (Select 1)

☐YES

☐NO

CA NO. 7 (ACT 38, 1st ES – SB 12) – Creates Louisiana Unclaimed Property Permanent Trust Fund (Select 1)

☐YES

☐NO

Parishwide item:

Sports Wagering – Authorize Sports Wagering Activities – Act 215, 2020 (Select 1)

☐YES

☐NO