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Precinct Closure Report: Truth Or Consequences?

S. Lincoln

Just in time for Election Day, a new report is pointing fingers at Louisiana.

“Some states have closed polling places on a massive scale. In Louisiana, 61-percent of parishes reduced polling places,” says Scott Simpson with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

He is the author of “The Great Poll Closure Report”, looking at the effects of the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County v Holder. It lifted the requirement for federal pre-approval for altering polling places on states named in the Voting Rights Act.

“There should be extra scrutiny on places that have entrenched reputations and records of discrimination in voting,” Simpson explains. “And so we tried to lift up the places where we thought there could be problems.”

The report looks at Arizona, Texas, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The Alton Sterling shooting and protests, coupled with the killings of 3 Baton Rouge law enforcement officers in July certainly put Louisiana race relations back under scrutiny. But how accurate is this report for us? 61 percent of parishes did reduce polling places; though 56 percent of those only declined by a single precinct. Simpson admits the closures may be for legitimate reasons.

“What we've seen is a lot of referencing monetary savings. A lot of them are referencing the popularity of early voting, and that there's reduced demand for polling places on Election Day, and that makes sense.”

There’s no doubt that early voting is popular here in the Bayou State, just as there is no doubt that Louisiana -- along with local parish government – has had  repeated years of budget constraints that necessitated economizing in every way possible.

And the report acknowledges Jefferson, Orleans and Lafayette parishes had another reason to reduce polling locations by a total of 39 precincts among them.

“Due to ADA accessibility they really couldn't keep as many polling places open,” Simpson states.

An earlier version of the report raised concerns about East Baton Rouge Parish needing to shift 19 voting locations due to the August floods. Though not included in the final version of the report, Secretary of State Tom Schedler said flood damage in Ascension and Livingston parishes also necessitated precinct changes.

“Some 65 precincts are being moved or adjusted,” Schedler announced last month.

Schedler says the poll closure report’s implication of discrimination in Louisiana is unjustified.

“If we can put on an election after Katrina that we held in Birmingham, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas, we can certainly handle something here in the state of Louisiana.”