The recent litigation over the results of the Caddo sheriff election on Nov. 18 raised many issues, including voting more than once, absentee ballots cast by ineligible voters (interdicts, felons, dead people) and failures to correctly fill out that flap on the outside envelope that contained the ballot.
Pictured to the left is a copy of the flap on the absentee voter envelope.
The Louisiana Elections Code mandates that the flap be completely filled out -- every line that requires either a signature/mark and names printed below the signature/mark. The Code states that the failure for the proper completion of the flap disqualifies the vote.
Thus, the correctness of the flap must be ascertained before the flap is separated from the envelope that contains the actual ballot which is counted after the polls close. (Correct marking of the ballot is another issue.)
The five-person Elections Board of Supervisors is charged with the task of determining if the flaps are correctly completed before the flap is detached from the envelope containing the ballot.
Realistically, this is virtually an impossible task due to the large number of absentee ballots -- 7,000-plus at the Nov. 18 general election. The March special election for sheriff is also the presidential primary election date and it can be assumed that therewill be more, probably much more, than 7,000 absentee ballots.
This reality was discussed at a recent meeting of the election supervisors. A possible solution was introduced to have all the flaps scanned each day and made available to the candidates and the general public on thumb drives the next morning for examination and the filing of objections to certain ballot flaps. This process will require special equipment and the approval of the secretary of state.
Also, a citizen voted by absentee and then again on Nov.18.
Once the flap is determined to be correctly completed, the registrar of voters must then mark that the voter has cast a vote and update the voter rolls for the poll workers. This process is time-consuming and is another challenge that must be addressed before the March election to prevent, or at least minimize, double voting at the polls.
This is in addition to updating the voter rolls to reflect early voters who are not qualified to vote again at the polls. Reportedly, in the November general election, at least one voter voted at the early election and then again on the Saturday election.