Early voting ends Saturday; almost 500 ballots cast through Tuesday

Nearly 500 St. Mary Parish voters have cast their ballots early, so far, for the March 25 election. Early voting continues through Saturday.

Early voting hours are from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. at the registrar’s office on the third floor of the parish courthouse in Franklin or at the Morgan City branch office at 301 Third St. You may vote early at either location regardless of your address. Early voting began March 11.

As of Tuesday, 485 voters had cast ballots in the parish, according to Parish Registrar of Voters Jolene Holcombe. Two hundred seventy-one people had voted by the end of Saturday, while 364 people had voted in St. Mary by Monday’s end.

All St. Mary Parish voters may cast ballots for the District 10, at-large parish council seat to replace Councilman Steve Bierhorst, who resigned in September 2016 due to health reasons.

Candidates include current District 6 Councilman Gabriel Beadle, R-Berwick; Darryl Perry, R-Bayou Vista; and Reginald Weary, D-Patterson.

Also on the ballot for voters in the Morgan City area is a bond proposition for St. Mary Parish Consolidated Gravity Drainage District 2 to issue $6.25 million in general obligation bonds for 20 years. The proposition would allow the district to pay to build a new pumping station by Lake End Park as part of the Morgan City Levee Improvements Project.

Officials say the bond proposal wouldn’t increase anyone’s property taxes, but would allow the district to borrow more money based on a millage already in place.