Current Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin is under attack by the Louisiana Democratic Party that is charging Louisiana’s elections are vulnerable to election fraud. The party ‘s recent statement reads: “Louisiana is one of the most vulnerable states for election interference in the nation because Republican Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin has failed to address cybersecurity issues and has kept our out-dated voting machines at risk.”
Is there any truth to such charges? I write with some knowledge of the voting system here in the Bayou State having served as Secretary of State for eight years. I have found little merit to such accusations. The current system works as well as any other state in the nation.
A ho-hum election day. That’s what Louisiana voters experienced a few weeks back. Now a runoff election is scheduled for December 8th with just a few choices for voters on the ballot. At the top of the ticket is the race to fill the void left by former Secretary of state Tom Scheduler who resigned from office under a cloud. And many political pundits and reporters were surprised over the first primary results.
This past Tuesday’s election stirred mediocre interest here in the Bayou State. This was the fifth election in Louisiana in 2018. And get ready for six election dates in 2019. There was a 45% turnout last week, even though voters witnessed a great deal of election hype from throughout the nation. Louisianans just were not all that enthused.
A poll commissioned by a Republican candidate for Louisiana Secretary of State and conducted by JMC Polling and Analytics indicate that that a Democrat and two Republicans lead the field at this time with elections six weeks away.
by Patrick Bergeron, Op Ed
Louisiana Independents call for no party label SOS
This 'letter to the editor' is a plea for support from the Louisiana Democratic and Republican Parties for a Constitutional Amendment to remove the partisan labels in future races for Secretary of State. It's time to remove even the appearance of impropriety from our system of elections.
Political parties are at a low ebb both in Louisiana and throughout the rest of the country. Public opinion often dips below 40% approval rating in numerous national and statewide polling. Voters continue to lose faith in how both Democrats and Republicans govern. When asked why people belong to a certain party, the negative views of the opposing party are often given. In other words, “I’m a Democrat because I can’t stand the "Republicans” and visa versa.
Refreshed embarrassment has come the way of Louisiana’s Republican Sec. of State Tom Schedler, and perhaps it’s more appropriate that he be ushered out the door rather than hoping he’ll do it himself anytime soon.
A hue and cry is mounting around the country that voting machines used on Election Day are eminently hackable. Congress is investigating charges by the Office of Homeland Security that Russia attempted to hack into voting machines in 21 different states. So is the integrity of our election system being undermined? Are computer hackers able to change election results? What gives?