Sep 30, 2024 Story by: Editor
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Louisiana’s early voting turnout numbers are in, and while in-person voting set a new record, total early voting participation has decreased compared to the previous presidential election.
This year, over 960,000 Louisianans cast their ballots early, marking a drop of around 26,000 votes from 2020’s early voting numbers. Several factors contribute to this decline, including overall lower voter turnout and more restrictive mail-in ballot policies. John Couvillon of JMC Analytics noted a significant reduction in the participation rate of Black voters.
“Black turnout was quite mediocre statewide, and especially in East Baton Rouge Parish. So at this point in time, four years ago, 30% of the early-voting electorate was Black. It was 25% as of last night,” said Couvillon. “That doesn’t really matter in Louisiana per se, except perhaps in the Mayor-President’s race.”
Louisiana has also experienced a trend of Republicans outpacing Democrats in early voting over recent years, mirroring a broader national shift in early Republican turnout.
“Four years ago, Democrats had a seven-point plurality with early voting. As of last night, it was a nine-point Republican plurality,” Couvillon said. “This is the first time I have ever seen Republicans lead all ten nights [of early voting], whereas early voting has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold.”
The Louisiana Secretary of State’s office reported record-setting numbers for in-person early voting, with 849,784 people voting in person, including 103,456 on the final day alone.
Though Louisiana is expected to favor Donald Trump, the national picture is showing a more competitive race.
“55 million have already voted across our country, with Democrats holding a three-point lead. Four years ago, that number was 73 million with a 14-point Democratic lead,” said Couvillon. “So I’m seeing a double whammy among Democrats, where not only is the margin down, but the actual number of those voting is down. And a lot of that is decreased mail-in voting.”
This year, about 57,000 fewer people are voting by mail, as the expanded mail-in voting options introduced during the pandemic were not reinstated in the state. Now, only voters 65 or older or those unavailable during early voting and election day can vote absentee. Source: BR Proud
