Louisiana’s new governor, Jeff Landry, is seeking to abolish the unique primary system to change the way politicians are chosen in the state, Politico reports.
The state’s current election system puts candidates running for state and congressional offices on the same ballot. The “primaries” are usually held either in October for odd-numbered years or November for even-numbered years.
If a candidate gets a majority, he or she gets the office. If a nominee doesn’t get enough votes, the top two go to a Saturday runoff about a month later.
This system has been used statewide for decades in both state and congressional races, except for a brief recess in 2008. It is not used for presidential primaries or general elections.
Landry made an attempt to call a special legislative session on Monday and also to deal with the redrawing of congressional constituencies. The session will run from 15 to 23 January.
Jeff Landry, a Republican, won more than 51 percent of the vote in last year’s election, overcoming Democrat Shawn Wilson and a group of other Republican candidates. He officially took office on Monday as the state’s first Republican governor in eight years.
However, the overwhelming majority of Republicans in both legislative chambers does not guarantee that open primaries will be cancelled. Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser stated:
We built the Republican Party on open primaries. Candidates at least have to campaign to represent all of Louisiana. When you close the primary, you’re going to get the far left and the far right.
The state House and Senate will also meet to discuss congressional elections after a court found that old maps likely violated the Voting Rights Act. Lawmakers also plan to discuss another majority-black district.
The Legislature has until January 30 to redraw the map, otherwise a district court could rule on the plan for the upcoming election at a court hearing in February.
“The courts have mandated that the state of Louisiana redraw our congressional districts. Redistricting is a state legislative function. That is why today, I followed the court order and made the call to convene the legislature of Louisiana into a special session on redistricting.”
