Big voter turnout projected locally

Saturday is when registered voters that did not participate in early balloting are expected to complete their selections for state and parish-level offices in Louisiana.

For the Tri-parish region, early voting results saw St. Mary lead the way casting ballots with 3,374, more than 10 percent, of the 33,234 registered voters in that parish participating during the 14-day period prior to Election Day.

“We have some busy races,” St. Mary Registrar of Voters Chief Deputy Joni Ronsonet said. Traffic at the St. Mary office was higher than in past early voting periods, and Ronsonet said she expects Saturday’s primary, combined with early ballots, to result in an overall primary election turnout of more than 50 percent.

Election officials with the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office listed St. Mary Parish as being expected to post a high overall voter turnout.

Both Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes saw fewer than 6 percent of their registered voters participate in completing early ballots.

Lafourche Parish has a total of 56,071 registered voters, from which 2,930 cast early ballots. Projected overall voter participation by the time polls close on Saturday is projected to be 65 percent.

Terrebonne Parish saw 3,620 of its 62,412 registered voters participate in early voting. Overall voter participation during the primary is expected to be close to 46 percent.

On Monday, the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office confirmed that on a statewide level early voting was up 12 percent from 2007 with 159,542 ballots cast before Election Day. Overall projections for early voting and Election Day participation were listed at 35 percent.

The early voting volume was considered high when compared to recent primary contests. Only the approximately 270,000 voters that cast early ballots during the Presidential race of 2008 exceeded this year’s early voting crowd.

Party comparisons among early voters saw Democrats turn out 52 to36 percent more than Republicans. These figures are consistent with 2007 Louisiana primary election early voting numbers.

While parishes with hotly battled races are expected to draw up to 70 percent of registered voters, those with less dramatic contests could see voter turnout as low as 20 percent.

Polls open on Saturday between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Registered voters need to take with them photo identification, such as a driver’s license, Louisiana special identification card or other generally recognized documentation that contains a photo of the cardholder, name and signature.

Voters with no photo identification may bring a utility bill, payroll check or government document that includes the holder’s name and address. These persons will also be required to sign an affidavit furnished by the Election Division in order to vote.

Should problems arise at polling places, the Registrar of Voters office in each parish will be open on Election Day from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m

Big voter turnout projected locally