The Congressional General Election is rapidly approaching and will be held on December 10, 2022. In this election, there will be three runoff elections in Webster Parish plus three proposed constitutional amendments including one which addresses whether or not a person needs to be a US citizen in order to vote in Louisiana.
Amendment No. 1 asks, “Do you support an amendment to provide that no person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to register and vote in this state?” A vote of “yes” on this amendment means that you believe those who are not US citizens should not be allowed to register to vote and then vote in Louisiana. A vote of “no” on this amendment means that you believe that people who are not US citizens should be allowed to register to vote and then vote in Louisiana.
Amendment No. 2 asks, “Do you support an amendment to make appointed members of the State Civil Service Commission subject to confirmation by the Louisiana Senate?”
As it currently stands, State Civil Service Commission members are appointed by the governor from a group of nominees that were selected by the presidents of six specific colleges/universities in Louisiana — each president selects three nominees to enter the pool from which the governor selects. The new amendment proposes that whoever the governor appoints from this pool must also be approved by the Louisiana Senate. A vote of “yes” on this amendment means that you believe that the governor’s appointment for this position should also be required to be approved by the senate. A vote of “no” on this amendment means that the governor can still appoint a person from this pool of nominees without needing approval from the senate.
Amendment No. 3 asks, “Do you support an amendment to make appointed members of the State Police Commission subject to confirmation by the Louisiana Senate?” This is essentially the same change as proposed amendment no. 2, but for the State Police Commision rather than the State Civil Service. The presidents of the same six colleges/universities provide three nominees each for the position. This amendment requests that whoever the governor selects from the pool must also be approved by the senate. A vote of “yes” means that you believe that the nominee must be approved by the senate. A vote of “no” means that you believe that the governor should be able to appoint someone from that pool of nominees without requiring approval by the senate.
Runoffs occur when one candidate does not get at least 50% plus 1 vote. In the event of a runoff, the top two candidates run against each other.
In Springhill, there will be a runoff for mayor. In the November 8 election, Ray Huddleston received 47% of the votes with 683 votes, and Ronnie Hearnsberger received 34% of the votes with 494 votes.
In Minden, there will be runoffs for two city council positions: District A and District C.
In District A, Wayne Edwards received 47% of the votes with 336 votes, and Buddy Myles received 41% of the votes with 297 votes.
In District C, Vincen “Cheese” Bradford received 46% of the votes with 279 votes, and Latasha Mitchell received 25% of the votes with 153 votes.
Early voting is available through December 3 from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. You may still request an absentee ballot until December 6 by 4:30 p.m. Absentee ballots must be received by December 9 until 4:30 p.m.
On December 10, 2022, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.