WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Attempt to Change Election Date Ruled Unconstitutional
Member Center:
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana lawmakers' attempt to move the state's congressional primary elections back to October was ruled unconstitutional Monday by a federal judge.
Under a ruling by Judge Frank Polozola, the state will continue to hold its primary elections in November, and if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, runoffs will be held in December. That's the same provisions already in place.
At issue is Louisiana's unique "open primary" system of elections in which all candidates run in one election regardless of party affiliation. It is possible for a candidate to win outright in the primary election if that candidate receives more than half of the votes.
Other states use primary systems that have face-offs between members of the same party in the primary, and the top candidates from each party advance to a runoff in November.
The state Legislature, in a change approved last year, attempted to remedy the situation by shifting the primary back to October -- with a runoff in November, if needed.
Were a candidate to win an outright majority in October, he or she would not be formally declared the winner until November, under the law. But Polozola said that distinction would still violate the federal law.
