Dear Governor Edwards, On behalf of the below signatories, we write to thank you for doing what is right and fair by vetoing the racially discriminatory and illegal Congressional map passed by the state legislature. By failing to pass maps that increase representation for Black Louisianians and other communities of color, the Legislature ignored the law, the Census numbers, and the will of thousands of community members who made their voices heard during the redistricting process. Your veto was necessary to ensure the Congressional districts in place for the next decade reflect Louisiana’s vibrant and diverse communities and uphold the principles of a fair, inclusive, and representative democracy. The math is clear. According to the most recent Census, over the past 10 years, Louisiana’s Black population increased while the white population decreased. Though Louisiana’s voting population is 1/3 Black, the Congressional map passed by the Legislature only provided an opportunity...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Chris Kinney, a resident of Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, has seen his electricity disconnected eight times in the past two years for falling behind on his energy bills to Cleco Power. His family did everything they could think of to catch up: pawning possessions, accumulating vast bank overdraft fees, borrowing money and applying for energy assistance. Somehow, Kinney’s outstanding balance kept growing....

Sade Dumas, executive director of the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition(OPPRC) in Louisiana, has worked tirelessly to decrease the population of the Orleans Parish Prison and improve conditions there for those held behind bars. A Vera partner, she advocates for evidence-based methods to reduce incarceration and promotes alternatives to arrest. Under her leadership, OPPRC has helped stop a planned expansion of Orleans Parish Prison and is fighting to establish a non-police crisis unit that is trained to respond to mental health emergencies. Dumas also helped recruit and support the candidacy of Orleans Parish Sherriff Susan Hutson, who last year became the first progressive and first Black woman ever elected sheriff in Louisiana....

Redistricting is how state and local governments redraw their political lines. Every 10 years following the Census, political maps are redrawn to account for population shifts. A Redistricting is supposed to ensure equal representation. However, the process is filled with controversy as tactics such as gerrymandering are utilized to influence future elections or maintain political power....

If you’ve ever wanted proof of the old French adage, “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” you need look no further than the Louisiana Legislature’s ham-fisted way of redrawing district maps after a decennial census....

Throughout the last six months, thousands of community members and fair redistricting advocacy groups have come together to shed light on the importance of a fair and equitable redistricting process. As the final Redistricting Roadshow concludes on January 20th, a misleading narrative has emerged: the Louisiana redistricting process should remain the same since its inception and not look at race. ...

Janea Jamison of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice talked to WAFB about the Power Coalition....

“People don’t understand how gerrymandered our maps have been over the years. We basically crack and pack people of color and have for years,” Shelton said....

“We know that 25% of the citizens in Shreveport are living in poverty, and we know that a program like this would help more of our residents maintain a better quality of life,” Candice Battiste, the city’s pilot manager, said. “It’s not just about survival, but about living.”...

This summer, the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, a coalition of community-based organizations that promotes civic engagement across Louisiana, started holding monthly “Sleeves Up” vaccination events. These gatherings, typically held at a church, community center, or apartment complex, offer games, food, and other incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated....

COVINGTON — State lawmakers on Tuesday heard from many north shore residents who were eager to have new political maps drawn and said they no longer want to be represented by a congressional district that is concentrated in the New Orleans suburbs south of Lake Pontchartrain. ...

After years of doing taxes the same way, Louisiana voters beginning Saturday are being asked to decide if the state should head in a different direction. Forty-three parishes, like Orleans, are choosing local leadership or deciding propositions, like East Baton Rouge, which is seeking to renew a property tax that funds the local city buses....

After years of doing taxes the same way, Louisiana voters beginning Saturday are being asked to decide if the state should head in a different direction. Forty-three parishes, like Orleans, are choosing local leadership or deciding propositions, like East Baton Rouge, which is seeking to renew a property tax that funds the local city buses....

Storm water had moved a tomb near the front door. When the door was opened a snake slithered out from the accumulated marsh grass. Jumping out of the way, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s only thought was “nope.”...

Ashley Shelton, Executive Director of the Power Coalition of Equity & Justice, discusses redistricting in Louisiana. By Ashley K. Shelton Originally published in Word in Black When any storm makes its way into the Gulf, one of my greatest fears is always that history will repeat itself. An overwhelming sense of concern came over me as I watched Hurricane Ida grow in strength and head into the Gulf. I thought to myself, “This cannot be happening again.” I have been organizing at the local, state, and federal levels for more than 16 years. I have seen a clear pattern from my work in disaster recovery that communities of color are often left behind in the recovery process. For those of us in Louisiana, we will not let history repeat itself. We can no longer live in a long-term state of resiliency, and we must change the pattern of never being made whole...

A coalition of major civil rights organizations demanded Monday that Louisiana legislators redraw election districts to increase the chance that a second Black person can be elected to Congress....

Redistricting is the hot topic at the State Capitol these days, and it should be. The outcome of the redistricting special session, which is tentatively set for February, will impact almost every government decision for the next decade....

A coalition of major civil rights organizations demanded Monday that Louisiana legislators redraw election districts to allow for the chance that a second Black person can be elected to Congress....

‘It’s always urgent when it’s about vote, voice and power’ Climate change, a major concern of this week’s United Nations General Assembly, affects people across the globe through immigration, food production and the economy, to name a few. But as Ashley K. Shelton tells Mary C. Curtis, climate change is also spurring voter suppression. Shelton, who leads the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice and is a founding member of the Black Southern Women’s Collective, is turning her attention to policies that need to be in place to ensure that Americans disproportionately affected by devastating weather events can fully participate in democracy....

OPINION: It is imperative that groups seeking to offer humanitarian relief direct funds to grassroots groups who are clNonprofits and churches are always the first, and often the only, to step up and provide basic needs during disasters....

Power Coalition for Equity and Justice is a group of community-based organizations that work together to educate and empower voters across Louisiana. Through their voter engagement and community organizing work, the Power Coalition seeks to unify community voices into a stronger, more cohesive force that can successfully advocate for an agenda of shared values and issues....

The word resilient is one that has been oft-used to describe those of us in Louisiana who survived Hurricane Katrina. A description one finds in media spectacles, political assurances, and academic studies. However, this notion of resiliency overlooks all those who lost homes and lives, those who did not make it and those who could not return, those who could not withstand or recovery quickly, and those who don’t get recognized at all despite their resilience....

“WE CANNOT EXCUSE THE SUFFERING OF MARGINALIZED PEOPLE AS A MATTER OF FATE; IT IS A MATTER OF POLITICAL WILL,” SAYS ASHLEY SHELTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE POWER COALITION FOR EQUALITY AND JUSTICE....

“It is imperative that groups seeking to offer humanitarian relief direct funds to grassroots groups who are closest to the pain of marginalization,” says Ashley Shelton, executive director of the Power Coalition for Equality and Justice....

Entergy New Orleans customers could end up paying higher electricity bills to cover the cost of repairs from Hurricane Ida  — but how big of an increase they’ll see would depend on whether the local and federal governments agree to foot some of the bill, the company said Wednesday. ...

Ahead of a host of local and municipal elections, the Black Southern Women’s Collective, today urged marginalized communities to demand that their elected leaders prioritize their voices and concerns. The Black Southern Women’s Collective is a network of Black women organizing in the South to improve the material conditions of Black people. Several members of the collective – Nse Ufot, executive director of the New Georgia Project; Pastor Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; and Ashley Shelton, executive director of the Power Coalition in Louisiana –issued the following statement:...

Today, one day after the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I cannot help but reflect as Ida ravishes our state. This storm comes as our region faces the worst impacts of a fourth surge of COVID-19, the Delta variant, exacerbating joblessness, food, and housing insecurity.  I have always been struck by the inhumanity of these storms; they always hit at the end of the month when working class folks are forced to choose between evacuating and paying bills. The utter destruction of all that they have worked to build is cruel, but the storm is the first slight. The rebuilding process is the next, and given the strained supply chain, rebuilding is always more difficult than it looks ....

A Louisiana judge on Thursday rejected a request for a preliminary injunction that would have required the state to resume participation in several federal pandemic unemployment programs....

When Lakeisha Brown knocks on doors to talk about the coronavirus vaccines, she anticipates tough conversations. Oftentimes, folks are confused or scared of the jab. They have plenty of questions but few opportunities to get answers. “I try not to be pushy,” Brown said. “I’m not here to make your mind up for you. I’m here to help you along the way.”...

Power Coalition CEO Ashley Shelton discusses grassroots organizing in Louisiana in the current pandemic and political landscape....

BATON ROUGE, La. (KSLA) – Louisiana voters could have four additional days for early voting in the next presidential election. That is, if Governor John Bel Edwards signs the bill. HB 286, filed by Representative Frederick Jones, would give Louisianans 11 days instead of the current seven days for early voting. It has passed with bipartisan support in both the Louisiana House and Senate....

Louisiana has a voting access problem, particularly in areas where Black voters reside. But one bill before the Louisiana Legislature, HB 286 sponsored by Rep. Frederick Jones (D-Monroe), would address this problem by increasing access to in-person voting and extending from seven days to 11 eleven days the window for early voting in presidential elections. ...

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A coalition of Louisiana organizations dedicated to civic engagement wants to get the word out to those who did not participate in the 2020 census because of their immigration status that there is still time to be counted if enough people speak up.  “Right now what we’re focusing on is trying to remedy any possible damage that came from those who didn’t necessarily want to be counted,” says Candice Battiste, who is a North Louisiana organizer for the Power Coalition For Equity & Justice. “So what we will be able to do is possibly look back at those communities and determine based on prior census whether there has been any growth.”...

Ashley Shelton, the executive director of the nonprofit, said Tuesday night that her organization appreciates Ardoin keeping the COVID-19 reasons to request and absentee ballot, “but (he) did not keep the extended early voting (which they also did not do in December) so while we support extended mail in voting, I think we would like to see extended in-person early voting opportunities so that more people can use that option, especially since almost 30 percent of people early voted in person in November due in large part to the extra days.”...

When news broke that Florida voters had approved a ballot measure raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Terrence Wise celebrated from a thousand miles away. “If we can get it in the Deep South, you know, down there in Florida, it’s bringing all workers closer to $15 an hour minimum wage on a national level,” says Wise, a McDonald’s worker in Kansas City, Mo., and a leading voice of the Fight for 15 movement. ...

‘The people are tired’ of corporate tax exemptions, one opponent says During Tuesday’s statewide election, Louisiana voters rejected Amendment 5, which would have allowed some manufacturers to avoid the property taxes they would otherwise owe local taxing jurisdictions for new projects or additions and instead negotiate lower payments with those jurisdictions.   Edgar Cage, a leader of Together Louisiana, a statewide network of congregations and civic organizations, and an opponent of the Amendment, called it “corporate welfare” and another tax loophole that allows corporations to avoid paying their fair share. Sixty-three percent of Louisiana voters, or a total of 1,221,197, voted against the amendment....

Extreme temperatures and record storms are shuttering polls, leading climate advocates to raise concerns about disenfranchisement.  A record number of voters have cast ballots ahead of Election Day, but extreme weather has displaced thousands of others and shuttered polling sites across the country in what climate advocates are calling a new form of disenfranchisement. Red and blue precincts alike are dealing with disruptions, and people already vulnerable to disenfranchisement — older people, those with disabilities, low-income Americans and people of color — are bearing the brunt of the latest voting challenges....

WEST MONROE, LA. (KTVE/KARD)– Candice Battiste with Power Coalition Equity and Justice said this year’s early voter turnout was record breaking. “Every record has been shattered, I mean I don’t think there is anything left, any records left to break, which is really exciting,” Battiste said. Battiste said they are expecting the same for election day, but they’ve also experienced issues concerning voter registration. That’s why volunteers with Power Coalition will be at the polls to help voters who are having problems getting their vote in....

Louisiana is gearing up for a historic election on Tuesday, with officials in the New Orleans area expecting extraordinary turnout for the presidential race despite hurdles that have added difficulty to voting this year. In addition to the headline race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, Louisiana ballots feature seven state constitutional amendments and dozens of local races....

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – On Election Day Tuesday, there will be a population that has a much tougher time exercising one of the basic rights: voting. Chronically homeless face a number of barriers that prevent them from voting. Many do not have a permanent address they can use to register, even more do not have an ID. Even for those who are registered and have an ID, the lack of transportation limits their ability to get to the polls. “Also, having to engage with the system that’s not really working for them in their lives at that moment is pretty challenging,” said Ashley Shelton, the Executive Director of The Power Coalition....

In Louisiana, where 325,000 homes remained without electricity Friday in the wake of Hurricane Zeta, voting advocates were rebuffed in their effort to have absentee-ballot deadlines extended by a day. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Anti-Defamation League Southern Region and statewide group the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice had written Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and asked that he act “to prevent the disenfranchisement” of voters without power who couldn’t get online by 4:30 p.m. Friday to request an absentee ballot or who might face difficulties returning their absentee ballots by the Monday afternoon deadline. (In Louisiana, ballots must be in the possession of voting registrars by the deadline.)...

SHREVEPORT, La- If you need a ride to the polls on Election Day, the Power Coalition –along with its Power Partners– are providing rides. The Power Coalition is a nonprofit organization in Louisiana. They are providing rides in Shreveport, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. To reserve a ride on November 3rd, call: Shreveport: 318-615-9203  Lafayette: 337-385-3887 Baton Rouge: 225-317-9028 New Orleans: 504-434-2299 Or go to the Power Coalition website....

WEST MONROE, LA. (KTVE/KARD)– Candice Battiste with Power Coalition Equity and Justice said this year’s early voter turnout was record breaking. “Every record has been shattered, I mean I don’t think there is anything left, any records left to break, which is really exciting,” Battiste said. Battiste said they are expecting the same for election day, but they’ve also experienced issues concerning voter registration. That’s why volunteers with Power Coalition will be at the polls to help voters who are having problems getting their vote in....

OUACHITA PARISH, La. (KNOE) – A new study by the non-profit Measure of America revealed that Northeast Louisiana has the worst quality of life in the state. The group measures the well-being of certain areas based on health, education and median income. On a scale of 1 to 10, the state measured at a 4.35. In the NELA area, every parish fell below that number, with East Carroll ranking as the worst in the state with a 1.69. “This work represents exactly the kind of data analysis necessary to see where our state is improving and where we still need to do work,” Dr. Jenee Slocum said....

A string of natural disasters has drastically altered how Lake Charles’ residents will cast their votes this election year.  In the aftermath of Hurricanes Laura and Delta nearly 70 percent of 123 voting precincts in the Lake Charles area have been moved to a new location, according to Lynn Jones, the Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court. Residents from 85 voting precincts have been directed to three consolidated ‘mega-sites’ to vote during the early voting period and for the general election on Nov. 3. “This is going to go down as one of the most challenging elections in our history,” Jones said. “It was a one, two, three punch. The second we were done making modifications for COVID, Laura hits, and then comes Delta.”...

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – President Donald Trump posted a tweet on Tuesday, saying people can change their votes. However, that depends on where people are casting their votes. For the four states in the ArkLaTex, his tweet is not accurate. “Once you have cast your vote, that is it,” said Candice Battiste, the north Louisiana organizer for the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. Technically, people can change their minds, but your vote will not be counted twice. In Louisiana, if a person sends in their mail-in ballot but still proceeds to vote in-person, the state will only count whichever (mail-in or in-person) is received first. Therefore, voters could potentially change their minds if they go in-person before the election office receives their mail-in ballot. However, if the mail-in ballot arrives before the person physically goes to the polls, they will not be allowed to vote in-person....

On the precipice of a historic election in a global pandemic, as anti-racist action confronts increasing authoritarianism, voting is under attack, y’all—especially in the South. What’s going down in your community? Let us know. Scalawag reporters and Anoa Changa are responding directly to your texts, questions, and tips....

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – Long lines and anxious voters signal early voting across the United States, as the country prepares for the November election. For Louisiana, this is the last weekend for early voting. Community organizations such as the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice and Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), set up shop in Shreveport to educate voters before they cast their ballots. “A lot of people don’t know they can take their sample ballots with them to the polls,” said Candice Battiste, northwest Louisiana organizer of the Power Coalition. She said it’s crucial people make educated votes and take the time to get to know what’s on the ballot before getting in line at their local polling locations....

How to make sense of the seemingly endless list of local offices up for election. “Overcrowded ballots are a form of voter suppression.” Ashley Shelton of Power Coalition Louisiana shared this powerful perspectiveduring the As The South Votes town hall last week, and it’s already ringing true for many voters across the country. Here in North Carolina, the ballot for my voting district has 37 offices listed, and my friends in Raleigh also have a hotly debated Affordable Housing Bond referendum.  As many people use lunch breaks, snatchs of time in between classes or clients, or the bookends of their day to vote in person, time is truly of the essence at the polls. Compound that with the incredibly long lines that many voters are experiencing at early voting locations across the South, and these long ballots become truly exhausting....

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – On Election Day Tuesday, there will be a population that has a much tougher time exercising one of the basic rights: voting. Chronically homeless face a number of barriers that prevent them from voting. Many do not have a permanent address they can use to register, even more do not have an ID. Even for those who are registered and have an ID, the lack of transportation limits their ability to get to the polls. “Also, having to engage with the system that’s not really working for them in their lives at that moment is pretty challenging,” said Ashley Shelton, the Executive Director of The Power Coalition....

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – With more than 41 million Americans already voting in the 2020 election, there’s a strong feeling that people want their voices heard this year. So imagine the surprise some people get when they arrive to vote only to discover their name is not on the voter registry. That’s exactly what happened to Amber Dixon on Tuesday at the Caddo Registrar’s office in downtown Shreveport. “I’m sitting here wondering, ‘what’s going on?’ I’m looking at everybody else passed me. And I was like, ‘I really want to vote today.’ I had it on my mind as I went out the door,’ said Dixon....

Tomorrow, October 20, at 7:00 p.m., Stephanie Mckee-Anderson, Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions, a 40-year-old local and national leader in Performing Arts, will go live on Instagram with the Executive Director of the Power Coalition of Equity and Justice, Ashley Shelton, to discuss the importance of voting and the organization’s work to ensure that Louisianians are equipped with the information that they need to exercise their right to vote....

In the midst of a pandemic and uncertainty about what Nov. 3 will bring, it’s safe to say that the 2020 presidential election will be unlike any we’ve seen before. Even voter suppression — which has been a problem for years — is taking new forms. Some Americans are being targeted online with misinformation about the election, and many are worried mail-in ballots won’t be counted in time as the United States Postal Service faces funding shortfalls. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s call for unofficial “poll watchers” has election officials and voting rights advocates fearing voter intimidation....

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State, 16,880 people cast a ballot Friday and Saturday in Jefferson Parish during the first two days of early voting. HARVEY, La. — For as long as the early voting line at the Odom Building in Harvey seemed Monday, Rose Sanzone decided to give it another go after giving up on it Friday because of the first-day lines. “The line was much too long (Friday),” Sanzone said. “So, we passed today and we thought, we can bear this.” Others like Corey Coleman tried earlier in the day and gave it a second shot after lunch....

Maxine Shelby, a former poll commissioner in Avondale, was shocked, because she thought she knew what to expect from early voting. “It took my daughter seven hours to be served,” she said. So although the polls didn’t open Saturday until 8 a.m., Shelby, 79, and her niece showed up at the Charles B. Odom Sr. Service Center in Marrero at 2:45 a.m., the first in line there on the second day of the early voting period for the Nov. 3 elections. Within 15 minutes, the line began to grow....

The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice (PCEJ) and their partners — including Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), and the NAACP — are celebrating the three additional days of early voting (10 days total) with a series of live and online events across Louisiana....

As The South Votes Town Hall—Part 2 Scalawag created the As the South Votes project in part as a resource for rural Southern voters whose stories often go uncovered—or are flat out misrepresented by national media outlets. Stereotypes of rural voters as those who vote against their own interests fail to see the structural ways in which rural communities are discounted and intentionally discouraged from voting. At a recent virtual town hall, Anoa Changa sat down with three representatives from advocacy groups across the South where they discussed how to ethically empower rural voters this election....

We all know someone who isn’t going to vote this election. Sometimes it’s out of deep frustration and disappointment, and sometimes it is out of immutable skepticism. And let’s admit, too: They aren’t necessarily wrong. With all the inaccurate information, doomsday reporting from national outlets, and tepid responses to injustice from progressive political officials, many voters—particularly Black voters—have a right to feel disillusioned.  Anoa Changa sat down with three Black women voting advocates to discuss this very issue at Scalawag’s As The South Votes Town Hall, in partnership with PEN America....

A string of natural disasters has drastically altered how Lake Charles’ residents will cast their votes this election year.  In the aftermath of Hurricanes Laura and Delta nearly 70 percent of 123 voting precincts in the Lake Charles area have been moved to a new location, according to Lynn Jones, the Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court. Residents from 85 voting precincts have been directed to three consolidated ‘mega-sites’ to vote during the early voting period and for the general election on Nov. 3. “This is going to go down as one of the most challenging elections in our history,” Jones said. “It was a one, two, three punch. The second we were done making modifications for COVID, Laura hits, and then comes Delta.”...

‘This is just not the time,’ business lobby says about increasing unemployment benefits Louisiana lawmakers approved several bills Monday (Oct. 12) that would provide relief to businesses in light of the state’s unprecedented, pandemic-related unemployment rate, but mostly left behind proposals that would benefit unemployed workers. The House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee rejected a bill that would have boosted the state’s unemployment benefits from a maximum of $247 to $347 per week. The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry — the state’s most influential business group — opposed the legislation.   “This is just not the time,” Jim Patterson, the organization’s vice president of governmental relations, told committee members. ...

Louisiana’s expanded early voting, mail ballots and other coronavirus precautions will still take place for the Nov. 3 presidential election, but Republicans Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and Attorney General Jeff Landry are appealing a judge’s decision to implement the new rules. Ardoin said in late September he wanted to focus on putting on the election and didn’t plan to appeal the federal court decision to expand absentee mail ballots, among other things, because of the pandemic. But he said he may appeal U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick’s legal opinion down the road. While the appeal comes three days before early voting begins in Louisiana, Ardoin and Landry are not asking for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the rules between now and the Nov. 3 election. The notice of appeal was filed Tuesday....

But Louisiana’s elections chief and A.G. want higher court to ‘review the law’ In a move that has the potential to confuse Louisiana residents who will start voting Friday for president, the U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry on Tuesday appealed a federal judge’s ruling that establishes the emergency rules for that election. However, the appeal will not have an effect on the Nov. 3 election rules, which have already been established.  Residents who planned to vote as early as Friday can still do so, and residents who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 complications can still vote absentee. Last month, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, the chief judge for the federal court in Baton Rouge, rejected an argument from the two Republican state officials that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic did not warrant an emergency election plan for the state. ...

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A Louisiana House panel agreed Monday that the state’s unemployment trust fund needs replenishing, but claimed that higher business taxes are not the way to fill it. The House labor committee advanced legislation to halt an automatic $53 million tax increase on businesses. The tax was designed to take effect whenever the state refills its unemployment trust fund with federal loans, as what happens when that fund dips below $100 million — like it did this month. The idea was that the tax would help the state repay the federal government more quickly....

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A House committee Monday, Oct. 12, killed an idea to boost the maximum weekly unemployment benefit by $100 dollars. Louisianans who are looking for a job can collect up to $247, the nation’s third-lowest rate. Rep. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, wanted to boost the payment to $347. “At least begin to have the conversation around the importance of adequate unemployment insurance benefits and what it does for the economy,” he said. But Republican lawmakers said the move would push Louisiana further into debt, noting the state ran out of money cutting checks at the current, lower rate....

As Louisiana takes on federal debt to pay unemployment benefits after running out of money in the jobless fund, lawmakers on Monday rejected a proposal to boost benefits to jobless workers by $100 a week, while advancing measures to suspend benefit cuts and tax hikes on businesses that typically help replenish the fund. Lawmakers still haven’t figured out how they’re going to pay back the federal government, which is loaning the state money to ensure benefits don’t stop flowing to laid-off workers....

BATON ROUGE – A spirited rally of furloughed workers did nothing to sway the vote for a bill that could have increased unemployment pay Monday. The bill, authored by Representative Duplessis, would have added an additional hundred dollars on top of the $247 weekly payout already in place–one of the lowest rates in the country. It’s unsurvivable for people like Latonya Howard, who was a longtime employee at the convention center in New Orleans until the pandemic hit.  “At the age of 49, I didn’t think I would be moving back in with my elderly mother. Because I can’t support my family. And I have children that are looking up to me, and I don’t have the answers for them right now,” Howard said. ...

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – The state has seen some heavy hits due to covid-19 and the house will have a lot to discuss later today about unemployment benefits. Three bills will be discussed in the House as it relates to the unemployment trust fund and how bankrupt it really is. The trust fund was drained after the pandemic left nearly 350,000 Louisianans jobless. The fund’s balance has fallen from $1.1 billion to about $85 million since March....

State’s response rate remains second from bottom Louisiana residents and residents throughout the country will have at least until Monday to respond to the 2020 Census — and maybe longer.  A federal judge in Northern California ruled last week that the U.S. Census Bureau must continue its counting operation through the end of October, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — who oversees the bureau — has set a Monday, Oct. 5 “target date” to wrap up the count.  However long it lasts, that extended deadline gives Louisiana — which currently has the second worst response rate in the nation — more time to have its residents counted.  Federal funding and the size of a state’s congressional delegation are calculated using a state’s official population numbers....

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — Election Day is just over a month away, which means time is running out for people who want to register to vote or update their voter registration. In four of the larger parishes and counties in the ArkLaTex, voter registration is increasing. “There’s obviously a lot of energy around this election,” said Peter Robins-Brown, spokesman for the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. “People feel very strongly one way or another.” And those strong feelings may be playing a role in the uptick in voter registration, he added....

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Work is underway to ensure Hurricane Laura evacuees have the tools needed to vote and complete this year’s census. The Power Coalition is meeting with evacuees staying in Bossier City hotels. They’re giving out gift cards and helping people complete the census. Since many are displaced, they’re letting them know their options for voting in the November election. “We know it’s important for people to be counted, because that’s how we get our federal disaster funding with Hurricane Laura and other natural disasters. They can still register to vote and vote by requesting absentee ballots.”...

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) – As the presidential election nears the controversy over who will be able to vote and by which means in Louisiana is far from over. Friday the Louisiana Democratic Party slammed Republican Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin over alleged actions they say will suppress the vote. For his part, Ardoin’s office released a YouTube video that has step-by-step instructions on how to complete the absentee voting process in Louisiana. “This is how your ballot will arrive. It will say official election mail at the top and will be from your parish registrar of voters,” a female voice on the video says....

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) – As the presidential election nears the controversy over who will be able to vote and by which means in Louisiana is far from over. Friday the Louisiana Democratic Party slammed Republican Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin over alleged actions they say will suppress the vote. For his part, Ardoin’s office released a YouTube video that has step-by-step instructions on how to complete the absentee voting process in Louisiana. “This is how your ballot will arrive. It will say official election mail at the top and will be from your parish registrar of voters,” a female voice on the video says....

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – We are right in the middle of Voter Registration Week in East Baton Rouge Parish, but there is a big push across the country to meet important deadlines. The EBR Parish Registrar of Voters is trying to make it even easier–extending the office hours so everyone can be heard. Those who need to register for the first time, or make changes to their current registration, can do so online here. Registration can also be done in-person at the Registrar of Voters office. An application may also be submitted by mail....

A federal district court judge ruled to expand early voting and mail-in voting When historic floods overwhelmed East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, in August 2016, Jacqueline Mims’ house on Sherwood Street escaped the rising waters. It was “kind of like on a little island of slight elevation,” she said, while some streets in her neighborhood were navigable only by boat. Among the thousands of buildings inundated was the middle school where Mims voted. Mims learned about her new polling place from the newspaper; she’s the only one on her block with a subscription. Other voters she spoke to or overheard on Election Day at the new precinct didn’t know about the changes in advance, though they managed to find their way to the new site....

A federal district court judge ruled to expand early voting and mail-in voting SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice Executive Director, Ashley Shelton, said Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s proposal was simply inadequate and did not meet the needs of the people. “It felt like the emergency plan that was being presented really prioritized partisan politics, instead of prioritizing people’s safety and public health,” Shelton said....

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – On Election Day Tuesday, there will be a population that has a much tougher time exercising one of the basic rights: voting. Chronically homeless face a number of barriers that prevent them from voting. Many do not have a permanent address they can use to register, even more do not have an ID. Even for those who are registered and have an ID, the lack of transportation limits their ability to get to the polls. “Also, having to engage with the system that’s not really working for them in their lives at that moment is pretty challenging,” said Ashley Shelton, the Executive Director of The Power Coalition....

Louisiana must use COVID-19 allowances for mail ballots Voters who expressed concern that voting in person would put them or their loved ones at risk of getting sick with COVID-19 won a major court victory Wednesday when a federal judge in Baton Rouge ruled that a Republican-supported election plan denying such accommodations imposed an unconstitutional and “undue burden” on the right to vote. Chief Judge Shelly Dick, of the U.S. Middle District of Louisiana, ordered that defendant Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, a Republican, must implement the same COVID-19 allowances for absentee mail ballots that were used for the July and August election. Dick also expanded early voting from seven to 10 days....

Louisiana should allow more access to absentee mail ballots for the Nov. 3 presidential elections, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick ruled in a 44-page decision released Wednesday afternoon. “The Court finds that Plaintiffs’ testimony clearly establishes that the state’s maintenance of limited absentee by mail voting imposes a burden on their right to vote,” Dick wrote. “Clearly, based on the data and advice from state and federal authorities, the pandemic is ongoing in Louisiana and calls for the implementation of measures to mitigate the risks of appearing in person to vote.”...

Residents can still respond by mail, by phone or online With two weeks to go until the U.S. Census Bureau ends its 2020 count, 85.4 percent of Louisiana households have been counted, leaving the state tied with Mississippi for the third worst response rate in the United States.  That ranking includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Across the United States, the response rate is 92.4 percent. Idaho and West Virginia lead the rankings.  In both of those states, 99.4 percent of households have been counted, and Hawaii is next with a 98.4 percent total response rate....

A federal judge this week may decide the fate of the controversial emergency elections plan proposed by Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin after preliminary hearings in a lawsuit filed by voting rights groups. With just eight weeks until the Nov. 3 presidential election, Louisiana has not adopted an emergency elections plan designed to keep voters safe from the coronavirus, due in large part to a partisan dispute over who should have access to absentee ballots....

Testimony concluded Wednesday in the court case that could decide how Louisiana runs elections scheduled for November and December. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick said she would issue a written ruling “as quickly as humanly possible.” Plaintiffs in the case argue that by restricting the number of people who can vote absentee and reducing the number of early voting days compared to the state’s last two elections, the state is forcing people with COVID-19-related concerns to choose between their health and their community’s health and the right to vote....

Federal judge to rule ‘as quickly as humanly possible’ A two-day hearing to decide if the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic warrants an emergency election plan in Louisiana concluded Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick heard testimony from expert witnesses. Dick told the parties involved that she would issue her ruling “as quickly as humanly possible.” The case of Harding v. Edwards was brought by the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP and the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice against Gov. John Bel Edwards and Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, though Edwards, a Democrat, supported the plaintiff’s side and has been highly critical of the plan created by Ardoin, a Republican....

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – On Election Day Tuesday, there will be a population that has a much tougher time exercising one of the basic rights: voting. Chronically homeless face a number of barriers that prevent them from voting. Many do not have a permanent address they can use to register, even more do not have an ID. Even for those who are registered and have an ID, the lack of transportation limits their ability to get to the polls. “Also, having to engage with the system that’s not really working for them in their lives at that moment is pretty challenging,” said Ashley Shelton, the Executive Director of The Power Coalition....

Louisiana’s election commissioner testified Wednesday that she’s concerned the volume of absentee mail ballots expected for the Nov. 3 election could delay tabulation of results by two to six days — even if mail balloting isn’t expanded as Gov. John Bel Edwards wants. Sherri Wharton Hadskey was testifying in a federal lawsuit filed by voting rights advocates who want mail balloting expanded....

BATON ROUGE – In an effort to get more people to fill out their 2020 census questionnaires, Governor John Bel Edwards declared Wednesday Louisiana Census Day. Louisiana currently ranks 46th in the country in terms of response rate. The 2020 census began in March, with paper questionnaires mailed to hundreds of millions of Americans.  In those five months, East Baton Rouge Parish has just a 61.8-percent self-response rate. That’s lower than our 2010 census response rate at 65.2 percent, and the current national average of 65.5 percent....

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Time is running out to get counted in the 2020 census.  Wednesday is Louisiana Census Day to serve as a reminder for people to fill out the 2020 census. The deadline is September 30th. The north Louisiana organizer for the Power Coalition For Equity & Justice, Candice Battiste says Louisiana is in the bottom ten for states with low census participation. However, Shreveport is above the state average at 61 percent and Louisiana is at about 57 percent....

Judge rules against state’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs Louisiana voters who say they will be disenfranchised by the state’s absence of a pandemic-related emergency election plan will begin making their case to U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick this morning.  But Dick, the chief judge of the federal court in Baton Rouge, issued a ruling yesterday that suggests she’s skeptical of the state’s argument that its current election plan is adequate. Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry asked Dick to dismiss the plaintiffs lawsuit as she did when she ruled against them before the state’s summer elections.  But the judge declined to do so because, she ruled, the plaintiffs have a stronger case against the state now than they did before....

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A federal judge will hear more arguments Wednesday on whether Louisiana should further expand mail-in voting this fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic. At issue is the emergency election plan Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin proposed in August. It would widen the current absentee voting pool to include those who have tested positive for the virus between the early voting window and Election Day. Voting rights activists, backed by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, argue the secretary’s proposal doesn’t go far enough....

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) – A group suing Louisiana over limitations on absentee or mail-in voting reacted to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ decision to push for expanded absentee voting in court. Edwards filed a memorandum in a federal lawsuit brought by the NAACP and the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice involving COVID-19 protections for the November 3 presidential election. Edwards asked Baton Rouge federal Judge Shelley Dick to direct Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin to implement the same emergency election plan that was used for the recent July and August elections in the state. Peter Robins-Brown is with the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, one of the organizations suing the state....

BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Gov. John Bel Edwards filed a memorandum Wednesday in support of a federal lawsuit over COVID-19 protections for the November presidential election, asking the judge to direct Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin to implement the same emergency plan that was used for the recent elections in July and August. During the July presidential primary and August municipal elections, early voting was increased by six days and mail-in balloting options were expanded for some people at higher risk for the virus as part of a plan that Edwards supported. For the fall elections, Ardoin proposed a much more limited adjustment in voting rules that would have modestly expand early voting, but still required most people to cast their ballots in person in the pandemic. Edwards rejected that plan last week....

‘We weren’t expecting a tree to fall into our house,’ Shreveport woman says Hurricane Laura hit the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane shortly after midnight Aug. 27, and, remarkably, after ripping a vertical seam of destruction through the state, was still a hurricane when it exited the state for Arkansas that afternoon. The storm has been blamed for 15 deaths and more than a half million power outages. Laura also left 600,000 Louisiana residents without water, forced the evacuation of 10 hospitals and displaced tens of thousands of people. The damage was widespread and extensive, but not all Louisianians who suffered damages have been deemed eligible for aid. Gov. John Bel Edwards has requested help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 23 of the state’s 64 parishes, but as of Wednesday afternoon, residents in only 16 of those parishes had been made eligible for help. They are: ...

Now that Hurricane Laura has passed, Louisiana politicos are returning to the issue of what role mail-in balloting will play in the Nov. 3 presidential election. With Republicans wanting to limit absentee balloting by mail and Democrats wanting to expand it, the issue has been dumped into federal court. Responses are due this week to a lawsuit filed by three voters, the Louisiana branch of the NAACP, and the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, of Baton Rouge, ordered during a status conference held as Hurricane Laura bared down on the southwest Louisiana coast. She set Sept. 8-9 hearings to deliver evidence and arguments on the issue....

Now that Hurricane Laura has passed, Louisiana politicos are returning to the issue of what role mail-in balloting will play in the Nov. 3 presidential election. With Republicans wanting to limit absentee balloting by mail and Democrats wanting to expand it, the issue has been dumped into federal court....

Plaintiffs say Louisiana is forcing them to risk death to vote Louisiana residents who have accused Gov. John Bel Edwards and Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin of disregarding their safety by not creating an emergency election plan that will allow them to safely vote will have their day in federal court Sept. 8. Ardoin, a Republican,  presented an emergency election plan last week that Republican-led committees in the state House and Senate approved, but Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, has indicated that he has no intentions of signing it. ...

Caddo Parish could be getting a second early voting location today if commissioners allow it. The item appears on today’s Caddo Commission agenda. The new voting location would be at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum on Greenwood Road. A second voting location means spreading out early voters which could lead to safer voting in the times of COVID-19. It also represents an opportunity to turn out more voters according to the Power Coalition, a community organization working to educate and empower voters across Louisiana, which supports the addition....

The Young Professionals Initiative, the young professionals program of the Greater Shreveport Chamber in Northwest Louisiana, debuted its 2020 40 Under Forty class on Aug. 21. YPI enlisted a special committee to select 40 young professionals under the age of 40 who are making a significant impact in Shreveport-Bossier. These individuals were selected based on values, such as professionalism, achievement, experience, innovation, vision, leadership, and community involvement. YPI looks forward to recognizing each honoree for making Northwest Louisiana a better place to live, work, and play for the entire community....

If the Lake Charles area is undercounted in the 2020 census by just 5 percent, that could mean a loss of $15 million in federal funding to area agencies over the next decade. Unfortunately, the national response rate so far is only 64 percent, and Louisiana is 6 points behind that at 58 percent. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said falling short in the count could adversely affect funding for schools, roads and hospitals. Losing another member of Congress is another possibility, and Louisiana has lost too many already....

Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin has a plan that would roll back the categories of people who could vote by mail significantly from the recently-held summer elections NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana is now heading toward a presidential election in November with no special provisions to address the coronavirus pandemic.  House and Senate committees have now approved an emergency plan proposed by Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin. ...

In an unprecedented move, Louisiana’s top election official wants to require a positive Covid-19 test if a voter wants to vote absentee over concerns about the virus. This comes amid a lack of consistent access to testing in the state. Louisiana is one of seven states that will still require an excuse to vote by mail this year, only allowing absentee voting if a voter is aged 65 or older or meets certain other conditions such as temporary absence from their county or hospitalization....

Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s emergency election plan for the November election, released Monday, scales back mail-in voting allowances significantly. BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards says a plan laid out by the Louisiana secretary of state rolling back absentee voting ahead of the November election is inadequate based on where the state is in its coronavirus-fighting efforts.  Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s emergency election plan for the November election, released Monday, scales back mail-in voting allowances significantly from what was allowed during the recent summer elections. ...