Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

An incident recently occurred where Caderrian White lives, prompting him to call for the aid of law enforcement. When officers from the Monroe Police arrived, he was told that because of his address, there wasn’t anything they could do. It turned out that the Michael Ave. address where White lives was listed as being in the town of Richwood. White became a first-time registered voter about a month ago, as he was looking forward to voting in the upcoming elections. Incumbent Mayor Gerald Brown and the Richwood board of alderpersons are all up for re-election, with every position facing numerous challengers.

According to White and his companion, both of them filled out registration papers to the Registrar’s Office to be placed in the system but found out that the necessary information stating that they had been annexed into Richwood had not been received by the Secretary of State’s office. There appears to be some speculation about whether the town gave legal notice of an annexation of Michael Ave. because the board must approve any annexation to the town.

When White inquired at the Registrar's office, he was allegedly told that the information needed by Baton Rouge had been having “issues” with getting the needed information confirming White as being domiciled in Richwood. White said that “issues” with Richwood concerning his and maybe others have allegedly been ongoing for at least two years, as told by employees at the Ouachita Parish Registrar of Voters office.

If the information is not sent to the local Registrar's office, an individual whose address is not corrected to his new address will not receive a voter registration card indicating where he/she will be able to vote if living in a different community. White is also concerned that there might be other people who have filled out registration papers that have not been validated in a timely manner on where they live in order to properly vote at their respective polling place.

One has to wonder if there are others who may be ineligible to vote because the town of Richwood may not have complied with state law. Was it intentional? Negligence? How many people may have been disenfranchised from voting simply because they did everything according to state law? Elections for offices such as mayor, council/board members, and even the president only come once every four years. White is finding out now at the eleventh hour, leaving him and perhaps others precious little time to exercise their constitutional right. There should be accountability from those officials whose duty it is to make sure that all eligible voters exercise their rights when the necessary paperwork is submitted stating that they are legally domiciled in another jurisdiction.

White did say that if the information is quickly sent in, he and his companion may be able to vote in a run-off. But they probably won’t because of a situation where it appears that the ball has been dropped. Perhaps there should be an investigation.