(The Center Square) — The Heritage Foundation ranks Louisiana number nine on its Election integrity Scorecard.
And while there are no races for Louisiana’s U.S. congressional delegation that are likely to surprise anyone, election integrity has not evaded scrutiny from state officials.
In August, Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order requiring the Commissioner Of the Office of Motor Vehicles to provide the secretary of state with “a list of names of non-permanent residents or noncitizens who hold a Louisiana license or identification card.”
The order also required state agencies to notify individuals that only a U.S citizen may vote in Louisiana.
The narrow, single-vote margin in the November 2023 Caddo Parish sheriff election sparked significant concerns over election integrity, highlighted by a subsequent court case that uncovered issues with absentee ballots and voter eligibility.
Louisiana attorney Brian Homza acknowledged the state’s strong election laws but pointed out challenges in verifying the increasing number of absentee ballots, especially given limited staffing.
New laws passed in August 2024 further tightened absentee voting procedures, while advocates, like Disability Rights Louisiana, criticized these laws for potentially disenfranchising disabled voters.
Joel Watson, the deputy secretary of state for Communications, told The Center Square that he is confident Louisiana will see a “smooth election day.”
Watson projects that approximately 1 to 1.2 million voters will turn out on Election Day. Watson highlighted the comprehensive testing and sealing procedures conducted at public meetings before and after elections, stating, “we have some great procedures that we take here in Louisiana to make sure our elections are safe.”
Watson explained that their voting machines “never ever touch the internet,” underscoring the importance of physical security.
“We’ve got great procedures, including making sure our equipment never ever touches the internet and our physical security, which is keeping our machines secure when they’re not in use, and also implementing test and seal procedures,” Watson said. “So every election, we test the machines at a public meeting, we also seal them with the tamper evidence seal. And then after that the seals are broken in another public meeting.”
While Louisiana may be an exemplar of election integrity, other states have seen a mess of lawsuits, acrimony, and finger-pointing since the 2020 election and in the lead up to the 2024 election.
A February memo from the Republican National Committee stated that the committee was engaged in 78 lawsuits across 23 states. The memo detailed the RNC’s efforts to bolster voter ID laws, oppose efforts to disqualify Donald Trump, defend state election reforms, stopping private funding of local election offices.
On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing Virginia to proceed with a program aimed at removing suspected noncitizens from its voter registration rolls.
