NEW ORLEANS — Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin said Wednesday that he does not foresee an appeal to a federal judge's ruling outlining plans for voting in Louisiana for the Nov. 3 election.
"I don't see any attempt to rush an appeal. We're 41 days out from the election, give or take...so we've got to move forward," Ardoin told WWL-TV Wednesday.
He said that the ultimate decision on the appeal is up to Attorney General Jeff Landry's office, which is representing the Secretary of State, but Ardoin indicated that it was in the state's best interest to move forward with the emergency election plan as ordered by U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick last week.
"We want to move forward because we have to have certainty in this process and we don't want voter confusion," Ardoin said. "If there is an appeal, I think it would be later in the process and on a more normal schedule, which will probably take place sometime after the election."
In her decision, Judge Dick ruled that the emergency protocols Ardoin put in place for the July 11 and Aug. 15 elections should remain in place for the Nov. 3 and Dec. 5 elections.
In those summer elections, Ardoin allowed voters to seek a mail-in absentee ballot under several conditions: if they were at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 because of underlying medical conditions; if they were subject to a quarantine order; were experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking medical confirmation; or were caring for someone who was isolated because of the coronavirus.
This fall, Republican state lawmakers balked at some of those measures, however, and Ardoin instead proposed a plan which would allow only those voters who test positive for COVID-19 during a two-week window between the Oct. 20 beginning of early voting and Election Day. Otherwise, only those already covered by state law (such as the elderly and those who are hospitalized or out of state on election day) would be able to get an absentee mail ballot.
On a largely party-line vote, the Legislature approved the plan, but Gov. John Bel Edwards rejected it. A federal court case followed. It was filed by several voters and backed by the Louisiana branch of the NAACP and the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice, a voter rights group.
In addition to allowing for mail-in ballots in limited cases, the judge's order calls for early voting to be held for 10 days, from Friday, Oct.16 to Tuesday, Oct. 27, (excluding Sunday, October 17 and Sunday, October 25), from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day.
The deadline to request an absentee by mail ballot (for those who meet the COVID-19 conditions or the existing requirements already in place) is Oct. 30. Ballots must be returned by Nov. 2 at 4:30 p.m.
