Louisiana's Republican-dominated Louisiana legislature on Friday passed a bill that would replace the state's unusual all-party primary system with traditional party primaries, though not to the extent that GOP Gov. Jeff Landry wanted. Landry, though, still indicated that he would sign off on the changes.
Races for Congress, the state Supreme Court, the Public Service Commission, and the statewide education board would now be conducted using party primaries starting in 2026, which is how voters in almost every state select candidates. Contenders would be required to win a majority of the vote to avoid a primary runoff, which is the practice in many other Southern states, including the three that border Louisiana. And voters who are not affiliated with any party would get to choose which primary they want to participate in.
The new system would be a departure from the electoral rules that the late Democratic Gov. Edwin Edwards put in place in the 1970s. Currently, candidates for most offices other than president all run together on a single ballot; if no one wins a majority of the vote, then the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to a runoff.
Landry, though, wanted even more extensive changes, and for them to take effect sooner. The original version of the bill, which was introduced at the start of the week, mandated that party primaries would be required for Congress this very year. The initial plan that Landry backed also required partisan primaries for statewide races (including the governorship) and for the legislature beginning in 2025. These offices, though, will be exempt from the new rules.
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