On March 29, Louisiana Senate Bill 18 passed the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously. This was quick action, since the legislature has only been in session since March 27. The bill only applies to congressional elections. It would let each party decide for itself whether to invite independents into its primary.

The current system is the “top-two” system, with the first round in November and the run-off in December, in which parties do not actually nominate candidates. Instead, all candidates run on a single ballot, and the top two finishers compete later if no one got 50% in the first round. Sometimes this results in two Democrats in the run-off, or two Republicans. Louisiana officials have decided this sytem puts the state at a disadvantage, since sometimes its members of Congress don’t arrive until all other states have already sent their newly-elected members. Therefore, the best committee assignments aren’t available.