(Baton Rouge) – “House Bills 619 and 575, recently introduced by Representatives Jalila Jefferson and Juan LaFonta, respectively, are a complete misuse of taxpayer money and place an unnecessary burden on the Secretary of State’s office,” stated Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Roger Villere, Jr.
“House Bill 619, introducing the option for citizens to vote at ‘satellite voting centers’ outside their normal voting districts, has been rightfully criticized by Secretary Dardenne as overloading Louisiana’s electoral system. At a time when our state is 5,000 commissioners short of the 20,000 minimum needed to work the polls on Election Day, adding the burdens of additional satellite voting and hoping that everything goes smoothly is pure fantasy. As Secretary Dardenne wisely has pointed out, satellite voting was feasible when the New Orleans mayoral race was the only race at the time. But with hundreds of local and statewide elections, the already understaffed poll centers will be thrown into chaos,” declared Villere.
House Bill 575 requires the Secretary of State to mail expensive absentee ballots to all registered voters and allots more time to displaced voters to respond to voter registration challenges. Rep. Juan LaFonta’s bill carries a price tag of $16 million in its first year alone, culminating in a five-year plan for over $71 million. “Louisiana has just invested $30 million in new voter machines. With Governor Kathleen Blanco admitting we lack the funds to support our own rebuilding process, this is hardly the time to begin inserting expensive voting measures that are unnecessary. This bill has been strongly opposed by Secretary of State Jay Dardenne on the grounds that it is too quick and too costly,” explained Villere. “The passage of this bill would require this office and our state to conduct a two-track election process and send out 2.8 million or so pieces of (absentee voter) mail,” Dardenne said.
Please call or email your legislators and ask them to vote “NO” on HB 619.
House of Representatives at 225.342.6945 or the Senate at 225.342.2040.
“House Bill 619, introducing the option for citizens to vote at ‘satellite voting centers’ outside their normal voting districts, has been rightfully criticized by Secretary Dardenne as overloading Louisiana’s electoral system. At a time when our state is 5,000 commissioners short of the 20,000 minimum needed to work the polls on Election Day, adding the burdens of additional satellite voting and hoping that everything goes smoothly is pure fantasy. As Secretary Dardenne wisely has pointed out, satellite voting was feasible when the New Orleans mayoral race was the only race at the time. But with hundreds of local and statewide elections, the already understaffed poll centers will be thrown into chaos,” declared Villere.
House Bill 575 requires the Secretary of State to mail expensive absentee ballots to all registered voters and allots more time to displaced voters to respond to voter registration challenges. Rep. Juan LaFonta’s bill carries a price tag of $16 million in its first year alone, culminating in a five-year plan for over $71 million. “Louisiana has just invested $30 million in new voter machines. With Governor Kathleen Blanco admitting we lack the funds to support our own rebuilding process, this is hardly the time to begin inserting expensive voting measures that are unnecessary. This bill has been strongly opposed by Secretary of State Jay Dardenne on the grounds that it is too quick and too costly,” explained Villere. “The passage of this bill would require this office and our state to conduct a two-track election process and send out 2.8 million or so pieces of (absentee voter) mail,” Dardenne said.
Please call or email your legislators and ask them to vote “NO” on HB 619.
House of Representatives at 225.342.6945 or the Senate at 225.342.2040.
2 comments:
You people are SO transparent. You want to prevent people from voting because you believe they won't vote Republican. I believe all Louisianans should be afforded the opportunity to cast their vote. This is yet another conservative attempt at disenfranchising voters. It's absolutely sickening.
Nice try, YLF. ;->
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