Louisiana Representative Rick Gallot (D-Grambling) has introduced HB 533. This is the Secretary of State’s omnibus election law bill. Among other things, it would remove the names of candidates for presidential elector from the November ballot. Louisiana currently is one of six states that still prints the names of candidates for presidential elector on ballots. The other states are Arizona, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and Oklahoma.
Printing the names of presidential elector candidates on the ballots doesn’t give voters any additional choices. No state lets voters vote for individual candidates for presidential elector. Also, printing their names on the ballot takes up space on the ballot. Obviously the more populous a state is, and the more presidential electors it has, the more ballot space is needed. Louisiana has 9 presidential electors, and the 2008 ballot had nine presidential tickets on the ballot, so the ballot had to bear the names of 81 candidates for presidential elector. Thanks to Randall Hayes for this news.
What State had the largest ballot in 2008 ???
— in 2010 ???
One more reason to abolish the timebomb Electoral College ???
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
Louisiana only has 8 presidential electors.
@Jim Riley
In 2008 Louisiana had 9 presidential electors. Since Louisiana is losing a U.S. House seat, it will only have 8 presidential electors in 2012.
#3 Richard Winger wrote that “Louisiana has 9 presidential electors”, and that the “2008 ballot had nine presidential tickets on the ballot”.
It seems like an unimportant point, but Louisiana currently still has 7 sitting U.S. Representatives, so I don’t think it would be clearly inaccurate to say that Louisiana has 9 presidential electors at the moment.
I think the question really depends how long the presidential electors hold their status. If they hold that status until the next election, then Louisiana still has 9 electors. If they only hold that status until their elector duties are completed, then Louisiana currently has 0 electors.
I suppose Richard could have been more precise by writing, “The 2008 Louisiana ballot had nine presidential tickets on the ballot and Louisiana had 9 presidential elector positions….” However, I think readers got the idea that he was trying to communicate.
Richard,
In the post you stated that Arizona, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and Oklahoma print the names of the electors on the ballot. Does Tennessee do this? I know someone who votes there absentee and in 2004 or 2008, I remember that the Tennessee ballot had the names of the electors on it.
#6, Tennessee hasn’t printed the names of presidential elector candidates on the ballot since 1996.