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.

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$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.

Contact Your Legislator
Sign the Petition!
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The Latest

In the News

“Closed primaries would cost taxpayers up to $90M in extra elections and disenfranchise over one million voters.”
“Gov. Jeff Landry wants to bring back partisan primaries. They’ve been unpopular in the past.”
“Landry, Legislature should go slow on election upheavals”
“Sen. Cassidy strongly opposes the push to end Louisiana’s open primary system”
“Landry’s special session call bites off more than he and legislature can chew”
“Overhauling La. elections would be a costly boondoggle”
“Closed Primaries Favor Parties”

Local Voices

Louisianans Against Closed Primaries

“We’re on the front line, and people do not understand why they can’t vote for who they want to vote for.”

Melissa Henry

Republican Former St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court

“Would you rather spend $90 million on fighting crime, or $90 million on new elections? $90 million on infrastructure, $90 million on teacher pay raises, $90 million on coastal restoration”

Hon. Bill Cassidy

Republican U.S. Senator

“You're asking me if I think it makes sense to limit the candidates that somebody can vote for? That sounds entirely un-American to me. I think people should be able to vote for anyone in the world they want to vote for."

Hon. Bill Cassidy

Republican U.S. Senator

“The controversial overhaul of our election system would remove voter choice from Louisiana’s elections.”

Hon. Bill Cassidy

Republican U.S. Senator

“We’re on the front line, and people do not understand why they can’t vote for who they want to vote for.”

Melissa Henry

Republican Former St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court

“Would you rather spend $90 million on fighting crime, or $90 million on new elections? $90 million on infrastructure, $90 million on teacher pay raises, $90 million on coastal restoration”

Hon. Bill Cassidy

Republican U.S. Senator

“Going back to closed primaries is a terrible idea. Voters need to let their elected state senators and representatives know that open primaries give them, not political parties, control over state elections.”

Jim Bean

Veteran and Louisiana State University Graduate

“The controversial overhaul of our election system would remove voter choice from Louisiana’s elections.”

Rick Ward

Republican Former State Senator

Learn More

The Research

Louisiana Public Affairs
Research Council

“Partisan Primaries a Move Backward”

JMC
Analytics

“Voters Oppose Closed Primaries”

Council for a
Better Louisiana

“First Special Session Highlighted by an Ambitious Agenda”

Get the Facts

Closing our primaries would cost our state up to  $95,000,000 over ten years.

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.

source
97% of Louisiana voters want to fund other critical issues.

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.

source
Louisianans favor the current system and oppose changes.

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.

source
The proposal would take away the right to vote in certain elections, possibly the election that ultimately decides who wins.

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.

source
Reform shouldn’t have been rushed in a special session.

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.

source
Veterans deserve a vote, and funding.

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.

source
The legislature must address a billion dollar fiscal cliff.

Louisiana is facing $500M annual deficits for the next three annual budgets, should they really be spending $95M on new unwanted elections in which only certain voters can participate.  

Problem-solving is a tradition in Baton Rouge; changes could threaten that.

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.

source
The current election rules guarantee elected representatives are accountable to all eligible voters.

These new elections would mean a minority of voters could choose the winning candidate.

The proposed legislation would confuse and complicate our elections.

Election clerks and poll workers are already under-resourced and under attack (Source). Increasing the number of elections will place an additional burden on the people who ensure our elections are safe and secure.

source

Keep Louisiana Unified is a coalition of concerned citizens determined to preserve our current election system.

Get in Touch

For press inquiries:

press@keeplouisianaunified.org

For more information on how to get involved:

hello@keeplouisianaunified.org