Voting in the state of Louisiana could be changing in the next three to five years. The machines that are in use now are becoming a thing of the past. Officials are having to use parts from older machines to keep some of the current machines running. The Secretary of State’s office said that Louisiana needs to move to voting via tablets in the near future. Technology is on their radar, but so is addressing problems with the current voting system. “The participation of voters is weak,” Schedler said Wednesday before a house committee. He said registering voters is no issue, but getting people back to take part in the process is a problem, particularly among the 18-26 year old crowd. He added the more opportunities people have to vote, be it early voting or by absentee, the turnout has decreased.
There’s also an issue spending dollars on emergency elections. For example, he said when areas put tax renewals or new tax issues on the ballot and they get voted down, six months later those same entities want to put the proposals back on the ballot.
Those types of elections end up costing the state in non-budgeted money.
Schedler broke down some of the costs saying that special elections to fill vacant seats for four representatives cost $242,000, a special election for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will cost $426,000 and a presidential preference election will cost 3.5 million dollars.
Full Article: State officials address voting issues, technology changes – KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather & Sports.