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The home stretch: Polls open at 6 a.m. Tuesday

Tuesday will be a long-awaited Election Day, at least for the two-thirds of St. Mary voters who haven’t voted already.
Federal, state, and local candidates and issues will be on St. Mary Parish ballots when the polls are open 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday. The Secretary of State’s Office website says polls open at 7 a.m. for Saturday elections but at 6 a.m. for Tuesday elections.
Bring your photo ID to the polls. Don’t wear clothing advocating for any particular candidate. Electioneering is forbidden within 600 feet of a polling place.
You can find your voting precinct by going to https://www.sos.la.gov/ElectionsAndVoting/Vote/Pages/default.aspx.
Nearly 11,000 St. Mary voters, about a third of the 33,233 registered voters, have already cast in-person ballots during an extended 10-day early voting period.
Some combination of concern about the coronavirus and the heat generated by a long and bitter presidential campaign has led to record early voting across the nation.
St. Mary’s early vote was up from about 6,900 in the November 2016 presidential election. Nearly 1 million people have cast early ballots in Louisiana.
In Texas, an astounding 57% of registered voters had cast early ballots as of Saturday, according to USA Today.
Topping the nation’s ballots this year is the race that pits President Donald J. Trump, a Republican, against former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden. In 2016, St. Mary went for the Trump-Pence ticket over the Clinton-Kaine ticket 63,%-35%. Trump won Louisiana’s eight electoral votes.
Also on St. Mary ballots will be the race for U.S. senator, in which incumbent Republican Bill Cassidy is challenged by a long list of candidates led by Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, a Democrat.
U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, is seeking a third term in Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers St. Mary and St. Martin. The top challenger there is Rob Anderson, a Democrat.
Seven proposed constitutional amendments are on Louisiana ballots:
—No. 1: An amendment declaring that, to protect human life, a right to abortion and the funding of abortion shall not be found in the Louisiana Constitution.
—No. 2: An amendment to permit the presence or production of oil or gas to be included in the methodology used to determine the fair market value of an oil or gas well for the purpose of property assessment.
—No. 3: An amendment to allow for the use of the Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund, for state costs associated with a disaster declared by the federal government.
—No. 4: An amendment to limit the growth of the expenditure limit for the State General Fund and dedicated funds and to remove the calculation of its growth factor from the Constitution.
—No. 5: An amendment to authorize local governments to enter into cooperative endeavor ad valorem tax exemption agreements with new or expanding manufacturing establishments for payments in lieu of taxes.
—No. 6: An amendment to increase the maximum amount of income a person may receive and still qualify for the special assessment level for residential property receiving the homestead exemption.
—No. 7: An amendment to create the Louisiana Unclaimed Property Permanent Trust Fund to preserve the money that remains unclaimed by its owner or owners.
Other races on St. Mary ballots:
—District Judge 16th Judicial District Court ES 2, Div. F: Natalie Broussard, Republican, New Iberia; Anthony “Tony” Saleme, Republican, Morgan City; and Keith E. Thibodaux, Republican, St. Martinville.
—District Attorney 16th Judicial District Court: “Bo” Duhé, Republican, New Iberia; and Lori Landry, Democrat, Jeanerette.
—Mayor of City of Morgan City: Lee Dragna, Republican, Morgan City; “Don” Hicks, Republican, Morgan City; and Kevin J. Voisin, no party, Morgan City.
—Councilman District 3, City of Morgan City: “Ron” Bias, Democrat, Morgan City; Marcelle B. Hoskins, Democrat, Morgan City; and Julia “Blaze” Johnson, no party, Morgan City.
—Councilman District 5, City of Morgan City: Louis J. Tamporello Jr., no party, Morgan City; and Jason Thomas Viator, Republican, Morgan City.

The 2016 presidential vote result for St. Mary has been corrected. The statewide margin for President Trump in 2016 was 58%-38%.

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