Early voting for the upcoming November 13th election begins Saturday. In New Orleans turnout is expected to be fairly low given the lack of competitive, high-profile races.
“The top of the ticket is what really drives people to the polls and given the sort of lack of enthusiasm turnout will be lower than what it was four years ago,” said UNO Political Scientist Ed Chervenak.
Chervenak is expecting Cresent City turnout to peak at about 30% due to the lack of a viable challenger facing Mayor Latoya Cantrell. Chervenak said there has been frustration with the city’s Ida response, but not enough to make a real dent in Cantrell’s popularity.
“Certainly people were frustrated but no real, viable alternative has stepped up,” said Chervenak who added polling suggests the Mayor’s COVID policies have been very popular, locally.
Early voting begins at 8:30 AM statewide Saturday. Orleans Parish has five early voting locations this year.
Statewide all voters will be tackling four constitutional amendments, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John, and Terrebonne, voters will be considering some local propositions. St. Tammany voters also have some local elections to consider along with the constitutional amendments, and local propositions.