Louisiana Postpones Fall Elections Due to Hurricane Ida

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin (R) announced that the state’s fall elections will be pushed back by one month in light of Hurricane Ida. “A number of issues stemming from Hurricane Ida’s devastation, including questions about nursing home operations, postal service delivery, extensive power outages, polling location damages, and election commissioners and staff members still displaced, would make holding the election on its original dates virtually impossible without impairing the integrity of the election,” wrote Ardoin in his first request for postponement. Hurricane Ida came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 29, pummeling parts of south and southeast Louisiana that are still struggling to regain water and electricity.

The secretary of state was required to assess election infrastructure since Louisiana is currently in a state of emergency, with the governor having final say in the rescheduling decision. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) agreed to the secretary of state’s recommendation to move the Oct. 9 election to Nov. 13 and the Nov. 13 runoff to Dec. 11. There are four statewide constitutional amendments on the Louisiana ballot this fall and numerous other high profile races, including New Orleans city council and sheriff.