Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry wants lawmakers to end the open primary system that has been part of state elections since the 1970s and return to closed party primaries. But voters may not be too keen.
A JMC Analytics poll indicates that 56 percent of voters are not interested in changing how primary elections are held in Louisiana.
“The numbers were not drastically different depending on if the respondent was a Democrat or a Republican, or a white or Black. In other words, there’s a general consensus in favor of open primaries,” said pollster John Couvillon.
Despite overwhelming public opinion in favor of the current process, Landry is in favor of the state having separate party primaries and runoffs. Couvillon said those elections would only be open to voters who are registered with a political party.
“Nearly 30 percent of voters in Louisiana, or 820,000 people, are not affiliated with one of the major parties and they would basically be disenfranchised,” said Couvillon.
Couvillon expects lawmakers will hear from election officials who will be in charge of implementing the proposed change and the extra costs that would be associated with additional election cycles for a closed primary.
As for why Landry is calling for a change, Couvillon believes it’s an issue of party purity.
“If you have the denominator become the 38% who are Democrats or the 34 percent who are Republicans deciding on their party’s nominee then you would not have people from the other party or Independents weighing in anymore,” said Couvillon.
Sixty-five percent of the 650 likely voters surveyed are in favor of the current jungle primary elections process in Louisiana.
