NEW ORLEANS — Governor Landry doesn’t like Louisiana’s “open” primary elections system. So he asked lawmakers to require “closed” party primaries, which exclude more than 600 thousand Louisiana voters who are “no party” independents. Lawmakers approved some, but not all, of Landry’s elections scheme in last week’s special session.
That change alone will cost us millions more to have separate party primaries and runoffs for Congress, Senate, and several major state elections, starting in 2026.
The vast majority of Louisiana voters like our system of open primaries, because it allows all voters to vote for any candidate in every election, regardless of party. It also costs less.
Landry says he’s not done trying to change our election system. You should take him at his word, and tell your state lawmakers how you feel about this.
Clancy DuBos is WWL Louisiana's Political Analyst and a Gambit columnist.