Nathan Stubbs

Turnout key in tomorrow's election

by Nathan Stubbs

Tomorrow’s election is likely to turn on which campaigns have the best get-out-the-vote drive. The special election will decide two local runoff races. Pat Cravins and Elbert Guillory are vying for the state Senate in District 24 — a district that covers North Lafayette Parish and most of St. Landry Parish; in Lafayette, voters will decide the District 6 City-Parish Council runoff between Max Jordan and Sam Dore. District 6 covers a central area of town along Congress and Johnston streets from Ambassador Caffery Parkway to University Avenue, also including the Saint Street, White and Tanglewood subdivisions.

Approximately two-thirds of parish polls will be active tomorrow for the two elections. Most voters will have only one race on their ballot. Opelousas voters will also decide the District A Alderman race between Larry Callier Jr. and Julius Alsandor.

Clerk of Court Louis Perret isn’t optimistic about a healthy voter turnout. An election last month, which featured the primaries for the District 6 council and District 24 state senate races as well as a parishwide bond issue, drew a little more than 7 percent of registered voters in the parish. Tomorrow, Perret says, he’d be surprised if the turnout was as high as 5 percent. “I hope I’m wrong,” he says, “but it looks like it’s going to be very light.”