SHREVEPORT, LA (By: Tom Pace, Executive Editor, Talk of the Town) BREAKING: CADDO MOBILE VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE 12N 7-27-09 Caddo Registrar of Voters, Ernie Roberson continues to encourage eligible parish residents to register to vote during his Mobile Voter Registration Drive that continues now thru October 30th, 2009.

CADDO MOBILE VOTER LOCATIONS: July 27th thru August 30th, 2009

Monday, July 27th- Hamilton- South Caddo Branch- 2111 Bert Kouns Industrial Loop Wednesday, July 29th – Cedar Grove – Line Ave Branch- 8303 Line Avenue Thursday, July 30th- Mooretown Branch- 4360 Hollywood Avenue Monday, August 3rd- Atkins Branch- 3704 Greenwood Rd.

Wednesday, August 5th- North Caddo- Vivian Branch- 615 North Pine Street in Vivian Thursday, August 6th- David Raines Branch- 2855 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive Monday, August 10th- North Shreveport Branch- 4844 North Market Street Wednesday, August 12th- Broadmoor Branch-1212 Captain Shreve Drive Thursday, August 13th- Wallette Branch- 363 Hearne Avenue Monday, August 17th- West Shreveport Branch- 4380 Pines Road Wednesday, August 19th- Hamilton- South Caddo Branch- 2111 Bert Kouns Industrial Loop Thursday, August 20th- Mooretown Branch- 4360 Hollywood Avenue

SHREVEPORT, LA (By: Tom Pace, Executive Editor, Talk of the Town) Mobile Voter Registration begins at 1pm on Monday, July 6th, 2009. With the 2010 federal elections coming up next year, local residents need to be registered to cast their ballots.

Ernie Roberson, Caddo Registrar of Voters, announced today that the his office will begin its 2009 schedule of mobile voter registration throughout Caddo Parish this week.

The sites will all be located at Shreve Memorial Library locations and citizens can call 226-6891 for a location near them in the upcoming weeks.

“This annual drive will encourage citizens to register to vote or update their address or change their party affiliation if they are registered in Caddo,” said Roberson.

Roberson added, “Using Shreve Memorial Library locations will allow us to be accessible to all neighborhoods in the parish,” adding that party primaries next year will mean some voters may wish to consider their party affiliation.

“It was confusing to a lot of voters last year and the federal elections in 2010 will include party primaries. I encourage voters to call the Registrar’s office at 226-6891 or use the Secretary of State’s website to check their address and party info.

We can mail the change form to the voter or they can come by our mobile registration site and pick it up, ” Roberson added. The website address is www.sos.louisiana.gov.

Voters should bring identification such as a driver’s license, governmental i.d. or military i.d. with their Caddo Parish address on it.

Upcoming mobile voter registration sites:
Tues. July 7th- Cedar Grove- Line Ave Branch Library- 8303 Line Ave 4pm-6pm
Wed. July 8th- Mooretown Branch Library- 4360 Hollywood Ave. 4pm – 6pm
Thurs. July 9th- Atkins Branch Library- 3704 Greenwood Rd. 4pm-6pm

Mon. July 13th- North Caddo- Vivian Branch Library- 615 N. Pine St. Vivian 4p -6pm
Wed. July 15th- David Raines Branch Library- 2855 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive- 4pm-6pm
Thurs. July 16th- North Shreveport Branch Library- 4844 N. Market St.- 4pm – 6pm
Mon. July 20th- Broadmoor Branch Library- 1212 Capt. Shreve Dr. 4pm- 6pm

Let me make this clear: ALL Registered voters in Caddo Parish are eligible to vote in the Congressional general election on Sat. Dec. 6th regardless of their party and they can vote for whomever they chose regardless of party. The final election of the delayed Congressional cycle to replace Congressman Jim McCrery is open to all voters in Caddo and it is an open primary election. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.

You can check your polling place location using Register to vote through this site.

There were 1,062 voters who voted “in person” during early voting for the Dec. 6th election. Nearly 1,000 more voters have returned by mail ballots so far. Another 1,000+ ballots still could be returned by mail.

Early Voting for 4th Congressional District General Election: 8:30am-6pm November 18-25, 2008 (Closed Sunday Nov. 23rd)

SHREVEPORT, LA (By: Tom Pace, Executive Editor, Talk of the Town) ELECTION 2008 UPDATE: 1pm 11-14-08 Early voting for the 4th Congressional district General Election to be held on Saturday, December 6th starts Tuesday, November 18 and ends Tuesday, November 25 at the Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters office, 525 Marshall, Suite 103 in downtown Shreveport.

The office will be closed on Sunday, Nov. 23. Voting hours each day will be 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.  Voters should bring picture identification such as a driver’s license, governmental i.d., etc.
 
All voters in Caddo Parish regardless of party will be eligible to vote in ths general election. It will be an “open” primary in which voters can cross party lines and vote for the candidate of their choice.

ELECTION NEWS 11-2-08 La. Senate Race; 4th Cong Dist Runoffs Cause Confusion Among Voters
Sunday, Nov 02, 2008 4:15pm

SHREVEPORT, LA (By: Tom Pace, Executive Editor, Talk of the Town) BREAKING: 2008 VOTER NEWS: 6pm 11-2-08 Election Day, 2008 looms large on the horizon, just 2 days away ‘til November 4^th, and possibly the biggest voter turnout ever in the nation’s history.

Hoping to avoid any confusion about who is eligible to vote in the federal open and closed primaries on this Tuesday’s ballot, Caddo Registrar of Voters Ernie Roberson offers some important news for area voters. Listen to Roberson’s interview with Tom Pace from the “Talk of the Town” below.

In addition to the federal Presidential election, Roberson says, there will also be two other federal elections: the U.S. Senate general election, and the 4th District Congressional Party Runoffs to replace our retiring Congressman, Jim McCrery.

Here is some further explanation on how the Senate and Congressional race are being structured using the open primary for Senate and a closed primary for Congress.

U.S. SENATE- Open Primary- you can cross party lines and vote for whomever you chose regardless of party or non-affiliation with a party. Just like all the local races it is an open primary. All voters are eligible to vote in this contest and for whomever they please to support.

U.S. CONGRESS– In this contest registered Republicans can only vote on the Republican candidates, because we are still in the runoff stage of this Closed Primary election due to Hurricane Gustav.

Meanwhile, Registered Democrats can only vote on the Democratic party candidates. The Louisiana Democratic party chose to allow voters who are no party, other party and non affiliated voters to vote in their primary.

There will also be a sign at each polling place explaining how this choice works for voters. This is the only “closed” primary or runoff election on the ballot. You will probably have your party affiliation confirmed by the poll commissioners so that the voting machine can be set for your choice of party affiliation.

You can check your party affiliation on the Registrar’s Website:  www.CaddoVoter.org. Go to Register to Vote  and scroll down to Polling Place Locator and click on that choice. You will need your name as registered and your date of birth. You can also find a map showing your polling place location.

Make sure you write down the number of your precinct as there may be multiple precincts at one polling place. You do not want to waste an hour in the wrong line to vote. This IS your responsibility as a voter; know where to vote and what your precinct number is on election day. This information is on your voter identification card.

All local races on the ballot are open primary and you can cross party lines to vote on the candidate of your choice.

SHREVEPORT, LA (By: Tom Pace, Executive Editor, Talk of the Town) BREAKING: CADDO VOTING NEWS 9pm 10-29-08  Caddo Registrar of Voters Ernie Roberson says he was “overwhelmed” with the record early voting turnout at his office in downtown Shreveport, La. from Oct. 21-28.
 
Just one day after the record 5,019 early Caddo voters cast their ballots, Roberson told Tom Pace from the “Talk of the Town” that his staff had mailed out another 2,900-plus absentee ballots for the upcoming November 4th election.

Click here to listen to Roberson’s audio podcast with Tom Pace.

Roberson said many times during the 12 and ½ hour days, the line of early voters snaked up Marshall Street, on around the corner to Texas Street: that equalled about 150 folks having to wait some two and a half hours, just to cast a ballot that took only one minute to register their vote.

To help voters with the latest election information-at-a-glance, Roberson suggests that they log on to his new website, now available 24/7 at www.CaddoVoter.org.

Now, the Next Vote is the REALLY BIG ONE: November 4th, 2008.  Roberson predicts that a record number of Caddo voters (possibly 75% or more) will go the polls this coming Tuesday.  

Statewide, all polling locations will be open 6am-8pm.  Ernie Roberson reminds everyone to bring their identification, and be prepared to wait possibly up to an hour to vote.