Judge to hear final arguments on fall elections in La.

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A federal court judge will hear the final arguments at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9 that challenge Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s proposed emergency election plan for the state’s Nov. 3 and Dec. 5 elections.

A committee previously approved Ardoin’s emergency election plan, which Governor John Bel Edwards has refused to sign, calling it “woefully inadequate.”

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The judge’s ruling will either institute an emergency plan for Louisiana’s fall elections or the elections to continue without certain safety precautions.

Plaintiffs in the case include the Plaintiffs Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, and several individuals.

In the first hearing Tuesday, Sept. 8, attorneys representing the plaintiffs argued the secretary of state changed its position regarding voters with comorbidities on Wednesday, Sept. 2, based on Attorney General Jeff Landry’s opinion on the matter issued the day before.

The plaintiffs argued Landry’s opinion asks doctors to issue a legal opinion and that healthcare costs money. They also argued the simple solution would be for the state to apply the same emergency plan used during summer elections to the fall.

Attorneys representing the defense, which includes Edwards, Ardoin, East Baton Rouge Parish Registrar of Voters Steve Raborn, and Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters Sandra L. Wilson, argued people considered “high risk” should already have a doctor.

The judge will consider both arguments in their ruling on the case.

The plan has to be approved by both houses of the Louisiana Legislature and the governor.

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