By Baptist Message staff
BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Early voting has begun for the Nov. 3 election.
Louisiana citizens have until Oct. 27 (excluding Sunday) to cast their ballots in person. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day at the parish registrar of voters office or other designated locations.
In addition to casting their vote for president and congress, Louisianans will have the opportunity to approve a number of amendments, including one that would help to protect pro-life laws in the state.
Known as the Love Life Amendment, the change to the state constitution is needed because of developments in 14 other states, where in each case a state court ruled that in the state constitution there was a right to abortion or the right to force the state to pay for abortions – but based on a creative interpretation of a general phrase or vague wording and not on anything that specifically stated such rights.
The Love Life Amendment does not outlaw abortion or address such controversies as exceptions for rape and incest. The language simply makes clear that there is no stated right to abortion in the Louisiana Constitution:
Amendment #1: Do you support an amendment declaring that, to protect human life, a right to abortion and the funding of abortion shall not be found in the Louisiana Constitution?
Due to Hurricanes Laura and Delta, some polling locations have been relocated. For a complete listing of early voting locations, please visit https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/EarlyVoting. Voters also can use the free smartphone app, GeauxVote mobile, to find polling sites and view a sample ballot.
According to a news release from the Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, polling commissioners will be supplied with personal protective equipment and will regularly sanitize designated areas and wipe down voting machines between each voter. Hand sanitizer also will be provided to voters and masks are recommended, although not required.
In addition to a Louisiana driver’s license, a Louisiana special ID, or a generally recognized ID with picture and signature, voters may use a digital license via the LA Wallet app.
For more information, contact the Louisiana Secretary of State’s elections division at 800.883.2805 or elections@sos.la.gov.
