Louisiana voters go to the polls on Saturday to pick their party presidential nominees.
Trump
Sanders
Only voters who are registered in the Democrat and Republican parties will be able to cast ballots for their party’s nominee in the presidential race because, unlike most elections in Louisiana, the presidential primary is a closed primary.
“In the presidential primary, the Democrats
Cruz
Clinton
can only vote for candidates on the Democrat party ballot, Republicans vote for only candidates on the Republican party ballot,” Webster Parish Registrar of Voters Melanie Smith said. “If you’re registered as no party, none, Reform or Libertarian, you won’t be eligible to vote.”
In the Democratic Primary, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faces U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, plus a handful of lesser-known candidates. Louisiana has 58 Democratic delegates at stake.
On the Republican side, 47 delegates are up for grabs. The GOP’s slate of candidates includes businessman Donald Trump, of New York; U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, of Texas, and Marco Rubio, of Florida; Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Dr. Ben Carson.
Following a robust early voting turnout, nearly 100,000 ballots were cast statewide.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, more than twice as many people voted early this year than did in the 2012 presidential primary — likely due to the heated contests on both sides of the aisle.
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Saturday.