Forty percent: that's the expected voter turnout today according to some polls.
One expert says that's below the state's average.
"Historically, midterm elections turn out around 45 to 50 percent," UNO professor and pollster Ed Chervenak told WWL's Dave Cohen.
Chervenak says several factors may be driving down Louisiana voter turnout this year.
"Maybe people feel that a lot of the races aren't competitive, and so there's no incentive for them to turn out," Chervenak said. "A number of the contests are low-level contests. That doesn't seem to be getting people excited or motivated. It's typically the big races--the presidential races, the Senate races. That's what basically allows partisanship to rise to the service, and that's what motivates people to show up to vote."
Chervenak also points to the Tuesday election day as another reason voters are staying away from the polls.
"Having it on a Tuesday does reduce turnout," Chervenak said. "People have to take off of work. They have to get their kids to school.
"It's harder to vote in the United States than it is in any western industrialized country, and one of the reasons is having an election day on a workday."
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