When the doors closed on the candidate sign-up period for the fall elections, Secretary of State Tom Schedler said it seemed “crazier” than usual. A few days later, when he received the data, he understood why the three-day qualifying felt so slammed. Louisiana has more offices up for election and more candidates on the November ballot than for any election over the last 23 years, according to a tally provided by Schedler’s office. To make it even more complicated, the secretary of state is seeing significantly more objections filed to candidacies winding their way through the courts and more candidates dropping out of races after paying their filing fees. The history-making election cycle is causing Schedler to consider recommending changes to the timeline for candidate sign-ups — and is certain to have names on the ballot in the Nov. 4 election of people who were deemed unqualified to run or have dropped out of the race. “At some point we’ve got to pull the trigger and let that ballot go to print, and that’s it,” he said. “We already know that it won’t be cleared up by the time for ballots to be printed.”
Voters will be deciding dozens of judgeships, two seats on the state’s utility regulatory agency and 43 district attorney positions. Across the state, people will select mayors, school board members, police chiefs, city councilmen and other local officials.
At the top of the ballot is the U.S. Senate race, with Democratic incumbent Mary Landrieu trying to win re-election amid tight competition, and all six U.S. House seats.
Overall, more than 2,400 offices are up for election, with 4,400 candidates signed up.
Full Article: Analysis: Jam-packed election causing new snags – SFGate.