Photograph: Parish Council members Alvin Stelly and Wayne Ardoin discuss isses with parish president Jessie Bellard and Council Attorney Garrett Duplechain. (Photograph by Bobby Ardoin)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
St. Landry Parish Council members are scheduled to convene Wednesday at 6 p.m. to discuss possible parish wide voter precinct changes.
Council members were informed by parish president Jessie Bellard last week that state election officials have determined there are probable issues with the number of voters currently assigned to some precincts that the Council established in 2022.
According to a July 28 letter to Bellard from parish Registrar of Voters Byron Stelly, the current state election code indicates that no voting precinct should contain more than 300 active registered voters.
Additionally the letter obtained by St. Landry Now.com, states that state election laws mandate that no precinct should have more than 2,220 voters.
Accompanying the letter from Stelly to Bellard is a list of precincts with fewer than 300 registered voters and another list of precincts that have 2,220 or more registered voters.
The letter also indicates that the Council is responsible for taking action within the next 60 days in order to merge precincts to eliminate smaller precincts, consolidating polling places or applying for an exemption.
Stelly also showed in the letter to Bellard that there are perhaps 28 St. Landry voting precincts with fewer than 300 registered voters. Overall the letter indicates that possibly 4,518 voters parish wide are now voting in precincts with fewer than 300 votes.
At this point Bellard said during a Wednesday night Council meeting where the matter was first discussed, that he does not expect the potential action required by the state to affect the Oct. 14 election.
Bellard added that if Council members choose to take no action on redesigning the precincts that the state will charge parish government $1,200 per precinct during each election.
The Council has wrestled with the issue of changing precinct lines and polling places several times since 2021.
In 2021 the Council first reduced the number of precincts in half in order to save the parish money. Due to public discontent with that vote, the Council then redrew the precinct lines again, restoring the number of precincts to the pre-2019 number of around 100.
Chairman Jerry Red, Jr., said on Wednesday that he likes the current precinct arrangement.
“Some of the areas were switched for the betterment of the people. (Elections) are a matter of all three (the ROV, Council and Clerk of Court) working together. We need to call a meeting to discuss this and do it soon,” Red added.
Council members Wayne Ardoin and Mildred Thierry said they are in agreement with the current precinct voting lines.
“I think the taxpayers of this parish are owned a place where they can vote conveniently,” Ardoin said.
Thierry said, “Can you imagine the mess and confusion if we (the Council) try to change things. We thought we had finally got that fixed.”
Bellard estimated that it would cost the parish about $22,000 for each election if the Council chooses to keep the current precinct lines.
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