Politicians in Baton Rouge want to spend $95M of OUR taxpayer funds over the next decade to change how we have voted for 50 years and fix a problem that does not exist.
Tell the state legislature: Don’t add new elections that cost $95M. We have more important priorities.
Time is short, and we must act now.
$95M
The legislature passed a law during a special session to add extra, unwanted elections that will cost taxpayers up to $95 million over ten years. We thought we elected a fiscally conservative legislature; voters want them to act like it.
97% of Louisiana voters have other priorities. Our politicians should use this money for critical issues that actually matter to Louisianans.
Savings
What else could $95M do for Louisiana?
Lower Insurance Costs
Decrease the premiums we pay.
Fix Crumbling Infrastructure
Build roads, bridges, and levees.
Fight Violent Crime
Invest money in our first responders.
Improve Educational Outcomes
Pay our teachers more.
Polling
Voters Have Spoken
Keep the System
Supermajority of Voters Favor Current System
"Do you favor or oppose the current method of electing public officials?”
Opposition to Proposed Changes
Majority of Voters Oppose Change
"Do you favor or oppose the proposed new method of electing public officials?”
Majority Rules
Voters Want Majority Rule
"Do you agree or disagree that anyone elected to public office in Louisiana should be elected with at least 50% of the vote?”
Keep the System
Voters Don’t Want More Election Costs
"If you could choose how you would spend [millions] of additional dollars over the next decade, how would you spend it?”
Take Action
Join the Fight.
Republican, Democratic, and Independent voters from across Louisiana are speaking up to stop the spend.
We need your voice, too. It is urgent for citizens to weigh in.
The legislative session ends June 3rd. Add your name to the list of Louisianans standing up against this reckless spending.
The Latest
In the News
Local Voices
Louisianans Against Closed Primaries
Melissa Henry
Republican Former St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court
Hon. Bill Cassidy
Republican U.S. Senator
Hon. Bill Cassidy
Republican U.S. Senator
Hon. Bill Cassidy
Republican U.S. Senator
Melissa Henry
Republican Former St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court
Hon. Bill Cassidy
Republican U.S. Senator
Jim Bean
Veteran and Louisiana State University Graduate
Rick Ward
Republican Former State Senator
Learn More
The Research
Get the Facts
The proposal would require one, and maybe two, more elections per year. Taxpayers will foot the bill and our election workers will have more work to do.
The $95,000,000 could be spent on priorities that matter to Louisianans. Only 3% of Louisiana voters support spending more money to conduct more elections. Voters would rather build more roads and bridges, issue rebates to taxpayers, and stop violent crime.
65% of Louisiana voters support our current primary system. The current system is favored by voters, regardless of partisan affiliation: 65% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats favor the current system. Only 26% of Louisiana voters want to close the primaries.
Voters in Louisiana who are not registered with the major political party who has a partisan advantage for that office, may not be able to participate in a primary that selects the ultimate winner, an election that ALL taxpayers pay for.
Louisiana has been using our open primary system for nearly 50 years. The legislature voted to change the system during an eight day emergency session. Politicians experimented with a closed primary in 2008 and 2010 voters demanded a change.
There are more than 284,000 veterans in Louisiana, and many of them register as political independents. Those who fight to preserve our republic, ought to have the right to vote in all taxpayer funded elections. Further, some of the $95 million dollar expense could support the state’s veterans; the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs only spends $59.86 per veteran each year.
Louisiana’s legislature has consistently been one of the country’s least polarized state legislatures (Source) and most innovative (Source). This is likely because State Senators and Representatives are accountable to all their constituents, not just the small percentage of people who would vote in closed primaries.