In what is being described as a “political football” game, Governor John Bel Edwards is going back-and-forth with Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin over an issue of an illegally cast vote in the New Roads area.
The issue arose when it was discovered former New Roads Mayor Robert Myer voted in the previous election after he pleaded no contest back in January to charges of malfeasance in office.
Secretary Ardoin, a Ville Platte native, subsequently wrote a letter to the governor asking for an investigation into the issue to be done. Governor Edwards sent a letter back to the secretary of state saying in part, “While your letter suggests you conducted an ‘initial investigation,’ it is clear that either you did not review Mr. Myer’s conviction or you are not aware of the voting laws in our state. While neither of those is acceptable from the state’s chief election officer, please allow this to correct the record where you suggest that Mr. Myer ‘illegally cast his ballot.’”
WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge reported Myer had not been sentenced to jail time. Because of this fact, Governor Edwards claims, “the law prohibiting people under an order of imprisonment from voting refers to those who are actually confined to jail or prison.”
The governor, in his letter, added, “As the chief election officer of the state, that you would toss around something as sacred as an individual’s right to vote like a political football in your ongoing campaign for office is extremely troubling.”
Secretary Ardoin, a Republican who is facing runoff election on December 8 against Democrat Gwen Collins-Greenup, replied to the governor’s letter on Tuesday of this week. In his letter, the secretary stated, “The governor’s lengthy, sarcastic response is nothing more than an attempt to sidestep a potentially troubling issue and a failure to address any of our specific concerns. The fact is, we were never informed of this individual being convicted of a felony, period. That’s a problem. The statute cited in the Governor’s response isn’t even in question. It’s alarming that the Governor has an issue with the legislative auditor looking into the Department of Corrections to see if there are any policies or procedures that can be improved upon. My job is to ensure votes are cast accurately and legally. If the governor has a problem with that, then we have bigger issues to deal with.”
The full text of Governor Edwards’ letter can be found at http://www.wafb.com/2018/11/13/gov-edwards-accuses-sec-state-playing-po….
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TONY MARKS Associate Editor