(The Center Square) — The Caddo Parish Commission will be taking another look at two new voting sites despite money being appropriated to support both locations.
The commission moved an ordinance concerning early voting sites to the Long Range Planning Committee after information from the Louisiana Secretary of State did not match the commission’s data.
According to Commissioner Chris Kracman, Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry sent a document that included an address and location for the north Caddo site, which did not match what the commission had originally requested for Savage Street.
The documents also specified that seven to 14 employees would be needed, with one of those being full-time.
“There are a lot of moving parts here, and as much as it pains me to want to move this to committee, I do think it is incredibly necessary. There are a lot of contradictory facts in all these papers,” said Kracman.
Kracman felt the Long Range Planning Committee would be more appropriate than the Public Safety Committee previously suggested by Commission Vice President Ken Epperson.
The commission previously requested information from the secretary of state on why one location was approved and the other wasn’t. Commissioner John E. Atkins said a letter outlined why the office felt the commission should pursue the north Caddo location first.
At last week’s work session, the debate surrounding the early voting sites caused tension between the commissioners.
When presenting the new item, it originally had the north Caddo and west Caddo voting sites lumped into one ordinance, allowing Parish Administrator Erica Bryant to pursue both early voting sites at the same time, despite the north Caddo site already being approved.
Several commissioners were concerned about the two sites being “tethered together,” and after a lengthy discussion, voted to amend it for Thursday’s regular session. The new item would pursue the north Caddo site while continuing to get approval for a west Caddo site.
Now, after receiving a statement and documentation from the secretary of state’s office, the commission has some concerns.
The money has already been appropriated, according to Bryant, for both voting sites.
