Early voting for runoffs begins Nov. 3

Early voting for the Nov. 18 state and Parish Council runoffs, plus four more state constitutional amendments, will be Nov. 3-11, excluding Nov. 5 and 10, which is Veterans Day.
St. Mary voters can vote early 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. at either of the registrar’s offices: at the Parish Courthouse in Franklin or 301 South Third St., Morgan City. Bring a photo ID.
If you’re not registered, the deadline for signing up using the Geaux Vote app is Saturday. The deadline to request a mail ballot from the registrar (except for the military and those overseas) is Nov. 14.
At the state level, the Oct. 14 primary settled some races, including governor, won by Republican Jeff Landry, and lieutenant governor, won by incumbent Republican Billy Nungesser.
Offices still to be decided:
—Attorney general, in which Republican Liz Baker Murrill of Baton Rouge faces Democrat Lindsey Cheek of New Orleans.
—Secretary of state, for which Republican Nancy Landry is running against Democrat “Gwen” Collins-Greenup. Both are from Baton Rouge.
—Treasurer, for which the competitors are Republican John Fleming of Shreveport and Democrat Dustin Granger of Lake Charles.
In St. Mary races, businessman Robert Allain of Franklin and retired Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange qualified for the runoff in state Senate District 21, which covers the parish. They’re running to succeed three-term Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, who is term-limited. Both runoff candidates are Republicans.
Three Parish Council seats are on the runoff ballot.
Incumbent Rodney Olander is being challenged by former Councilman Peter Soprano in District 3. Both candidates are from Franklin.
In District 5, Doug Streety made the runoff against incumbent “Les” Rulf. Both men are from Patterson.
In District 8, incumbent Mark A. Duhon is running against challenger Carlo Gagliano Jr. Both candidates are from Amelia.
The four state constitutional amendments, with information developed by the Public Affairs Research Council:
—Amendment 1 would clarify how much time the governor has to veto bills or portions of bills.
Currently, governors have 10 days to veto bills they receive during the legislative session in which the bill passes and 20 days for bills they receive after the session.
But this has become a source of dispute because of the proliferation of special sessions, often immediately before or after regular sessions. Also, the Legislature has entered three veto override sessions in recent years, and those must happen 40 days after the end of the most recent session.
Can the Legislature consider a veto during an existing session, if the 40-day deadline falls in that period, or must it suspend its work to hold a separate veto override session?
The amendment would specify that legislators could consider veto overrides during other sessions if veto override deadlines fall in their midst.
—Amendment 2 would eliminate six inactive funds that no longer perform the functions for which they were enacted.
The funds that would be eliminated are the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund, the Agricultural and Seafood Products Support Fund, the Higher Education Louisiana Partnership Fund, the Millennium Leverage Fund, the First Use Tax Trust Fund and the Louisiana Investment Fund for Enhancement.
—Amendment 3 would allow parish councils and police juries to award an additional property tax exemption to first-responders.
The exemption would shield another $25,000 of a home’s value from property taxes in addition to the statewide $75,000 homestead exemption for primary homes.
The extra exemption could be awarded to first-responders, including law enforcement, certain volunteer firefighters, certified emergency medical services workers, and communications operators and dispatchers.
—Amendment 4 would put limits on the Legislature’s use of the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, to which some business tax collections are dedicated.
In broad terms, the amendment would require the use of other state resources before the trust fund is tapped to deal with a looming state budget deficit.
According to the PAR analysis, the Legislature would need a two-thirds vote to draw money from the rainy day fund, and could then turn to the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, again by a two-thirds vote, only if the rainy day fund is exhausted without fixing the deficit.
You can contact your local registrar’s office 985-384-8638 (Morgan City) or 337-828-4100 (Franklin).