Caddo registrar of voters discusses election issues

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — There is some confusion for some voters about what precinct they should vote in. This after multiple discrepancies during the midterm election.

LSU Shreveport professor Dr. Gary Joiner is one of many people who has been hearing from confused voters.

“I was told by one of the council members a few weeks ago that a man had called a particular member of the council and said they were told they were not in the city when they were in the city.“

[RELATED: Judge denies petition Shreveport City Council District B candidate filed challenging election outcome]

The issue of redistricting maps has been at the forefront of talk among people in Caddo, especially after James Carstensen, a candidate for Shreveport City Council District B, filed a lawsuit alleging that redistricting in the parish took place so close to election day that the proper maps were not used during the election and also after he received numerous letters from people alleging that they were unable to vote Nov 8.

“Something that has been brought to our attention very recently is that there are people around the edge of the city who are confused about whether they are inside or out of the city limits,” Registrar of Voters Dale Sibley said. “There is certain map information that showed them being in and out, so with calls to the tax assessor’s office, they reviewed their database and they found that yes, fact, some of these people are within the city limits.”

Sibley said they are working with a demographer to clear up any confusion about where voters should vote.

“To resolve any confusion between the city redistricting map and what the assessor’s record shows and what the citizens are saying, we have reached out to the demographer and have asked him to clarify for us which one these people should be in the city and which ones should be out, according to the town’s redistricting plan, because there appear to be some areas that clearly are in error. And so we are going through that process now.”

[RELATED: Shreveport City Council candidate files lawsuit challenging election results]

So can redistricting kick people out of city limits?

“No, never. To be brought into any city, there has to be an annexation …,” Joiner explained.

“I think it’s important for citizens to know that their voices were heard,” Sibley said. “There were some questions early on, but they kept calling. And then other entities such as the assessor’s office was able to get involved. And now we can take that to the demographer.”

Sibley said all information will be updated before mail-in ballots are sent out for early voting. He asked that you verify all your information is correct before going to vote.

Copyright 2022 KSLA. All rights reserved.