St. Martin Parish residents who have not yet cast their vote face a rather lengthy ballot at the polls on Saturday.
The 2019 Gubernatorial Primary on Oct. 12 includes a full slate of statewide candidates as well as races for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), state senators and representatives, parish council seats and four proposed constitutional amendments.
And that’s not including the spirited race for the sheriff’s office here.
The election has already attracted a record number of early voters with at least 7,066 ballots counted as of Monday. That represents about 19 percent of the parish’s 37,077 registered voters and is a sharp increase over the 4,548 early votes cast here for the 2015 statewide races.
All parish voters will participate in the election of seven statewide officials, including governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture and forestry and commissioner of insurance.
In addition, there are BESE seats to be filled and legislators to elect.
Parts of St. Martin Parish are included in Senate Districts 17, 22 and 24 as well as Representative Districts 46, 48, 50 and 96.
While Senators Fred Mills Jr. (Dist. 22) and Rick Ward (Dist. 17) are unopposed, all the other seats are contested.
Parish Races
At the local level, the only parishwide race is for sheriff, with Becket Breaux, Albert “Buz” LeBlanc and Brian Douglas Theriot all seeking to succeed Sheriff Ronny Theriot, who is retiring after serving four terms in office.
Parish President Chester Cedars, Assessor Todd Dugas, Clerk of Court Becky Patin and Coroner Dr. Warren Degatur Jr. are all unopposed.
The Parish Council will see at least four, and possibly six, new faces, with only three of the nine members – Chris Tauzin of Dist. 5, Dean LeBlanc of Dist. 8 and Daniel Richard Jr. of Dist. 9 – unopposed.
Voters are reminded that all 51 precincts, scattered among 28 different locations, will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Go to the secretary of state’s Geaux Vote online site to find your sample ballot.
