Photograph: St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard and demographer Mike Hefner look over information on laptop computer. (Photograph by Freddie Herpin.)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The St. Landry Parish Registrar of Voters Office now handles about 50 telephone calls a day and despite the volume, that’s good news, says acting registrar Lauren Jones.
“Before that (the calls) were non-stop,” said Jones, who for the past couple of weeks has dealt with parish voters who are concerned about where they will now cast ballots on Election Day.
St. Landry residents have begun receiving mailed voter registration cards from the Secretary of State, identifying the precincts and polling place locations that have been determined by the 2020 census.
Many parish voters are unhappy about the information they have received on their cards, Jones said.
Results from census information that reflect parishwide population movements have caused changes inside some of the 13 election districts parishwide.
Some residents have become upset that their former precincts and voting locations are no longer the same, Jones said during a Thursday interview.
As a result, Jones said she and the ROV staff have spent more telephone hours explaining the reasons for the changes.
“Most of the calls that are coming in are from persons who want to go back to their old locations where they have voted in the past. What we tell them is that if there have been changes made, it’s because of reapportionment,” Jones added.
The St. Landry Parish Council has dealt for over a year with a number of problems involving parishwide voting.
In 2021 the Council voted to approve a 2019 recommendation by state lawmakers that reduced the number of parish precincts from 92 to 53.
That decision proved to be unfavorable, as some voters were being forced to drive longer distances on Election Day. The Council eventually passed an ordinance in July which now gives St. Landry 94 precincts according to Jones.
Since October council and school board members have met with demographer Mike Hefner and several months later agreed to the 13 district boundaries which will be used for subsequent elections over the next decade.
St. Landry demographic indicators show the parish population since 2010 has continued moving southward, a dynamic which has caused ripple effects in districts which are losing residents.
Moving the election district lines due to population shifts, has forced some voters into different precincts and polling locations.
“The biggest issues we are having right now are with the precincts. People are not satisfied and we are receiving an influx of calls about that,” Jones said.
Parish Council members emphasized during a Wednesday night meeting that they are not responsible for the precinct and polling place changes.
Hefner said information supplied to the Secretary of State from redistricting has been responsible for creating issues that he labeled geographical data errors that are determining where people now vote.
Rural parishes like St. Landry Hefner said, have more problems for state officials with accurately defining precincts and polling places.
During the Wednesday night meeting, council members described the complaints that they have heard from voters in the election districts they represent.
Jones said the ROV has been providing explanations for voters’ concerns and staff members are trying to assist with the complaints.
“Right now we are combing back and going through everything. The issues people have right now are with the precincts. They want to go back to where they have always voted,” said Jones.
