Recent editorials from Louisiana newspapers:
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Oct. 7
The Houma Courier on making it more convenient to vote early and possibly vote electronically in the future:
Terrebonne Parish officials are discussing the possibility of opening more early-voting sites similar to what Lafourche has already done.
As it stands, those who want to cast an early ballot — like thousands did over the week that ended on Oct. 5 — have to travel to the Terrebonne Registrar of Voters’ Office in Houma’s Government Tower.
In Lafourche, voters have three early-voting sites to choose from after one was added last year at the parish office building in Mathews. The other two are at the Registrar’s Office in Thibodaux and the South Lafourche Library in Galliano.
Terrebonne Registrar of Voters Rhonda Rogers told the Parish Council recently that adding an early-voting site would be a costly and permanent endeavor. While early voting is growing in popularity, she said, the current site has been able to accommodate voters without issue. Even when the line is wrapped around the building, wait times are no more than 15 minutes, she said.
Councilman John Navy said there have been some questions about adding an early-voting site, particularly in the bayou communities. Navy said he is open to exploring the issue and gather public input after the coming primary and general elections.
Rogers and Navy both make good points. Rogers is right to look out for taxpayers to ensure the cost of adding a site is not burdensome. And Navy is looking out for constituents who wonder whether another voting location could make it more convenient for those who might lack transportation to Houma.
There are alternatives that give most people a chance to vote. Terrebonne has roughly 70 polling places that are open on election day, which means most voters have one in their neighborhood. And Rogers suggests that educating people about mail-in ballots, available to any registered voters, is another way to ensure people can make their voices heard at the ballot box.
Voting is such an essential part of the democratic process, it’s worth looking into what it would take to add more early voting sites in Terrebonne. A study that includes costs and other considerations won’t commit the parish to adding sites, but it will arm council members with the information they need to make the best decision.
Lafourche uses three public buildings that were already in use anyway. That likely lowered the cost. Terrebonne has libraries in almost every community; one or more of them might work as an early-voting location.
In the meantime, Louisiana officials ought to start looking into offering more online or electronic voting of some sort. Already, Louisiana residents can register to vote online through the Secretary of State’s website. Twenty-five states allow certain voters to submit ballots electronically in one way or another, including Louisiana, which allows disabled people, residents who are overseas or those serving in the military to vote by fax. A few states offer online voting as well. But none of them offer electronic or online options to all of the state’s voters.
Obviously, security is paramount. But in an age where masses with cellphones can do so much from the palm of their hand, requiring hundreds of thousands of voters across Louisiana — and millions in national elections — to travel to polling places has started to seem outdated.
Online: https://www.houmatoday.com
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Oct. 4
The Advocate on governor candidates agreeing on the importance of Medicaid expansion:
Many contentious issues divide the three leading candidates for governor, but we’re glad to hear that there is agreement on the health of working people in low-wage jobs in the state.
In their most recent debate the candidates said they will not roll back the “Obamacare” expansion of Medicaid.
The expansion was approved by executive order of Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2016. About 450,000 are now covered by health insurance under the U.S. Affordable Care Act. And the state has benefited in its general fund because the expansion is paid for mostly by a generous federal match.
It was too good a deal for a poor state like Louisiana to pass up. But refuse it we did, under former Gov. Bobby Jindal, backed by Republican members of the Legislature.
The facts on the ground were overridden by a passionate objection to then-President Barack Obama.
The good news is that the two major Republican candidates for governor are now in agreement with Edwards. In a lightning round of yes-or-no questions, all agreed that they would not roll back the expansion, during a debate sponsored by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and the Council for a Better Louisiana.
Both Ralph Abraham and Eddie Rispone have had more to say in criticizing administration of the expansion, although Edwards has defended the state’s efforts to reduce fraud and abuse.
Rispone is a businessman from Baton Rouge. Abraham, R-Alto, is a physician who has voted against the Affordable Care Act during his three terms in Congress; while that would repeal Medicaid expansion, with calamitous effects in Louisiana, Abraham objects to other provisions in the sprawling federal law that changed America’s health care landscape.
Still, we hope that Medicaid expansion, which provides an insurance card for people working but making far too little for meaningful private insurance, remains on the books for years to come.
The state’s economic future rests on education reform, investment in colleges and universities and better infrastructure. All are vital, but the realities of life in low-wage households are also part of that larger picture. People in pain cannot stand all day at a counter or labor on a farm.
Those without a primary care doctor or access to a nurse practitioner don’t get the treatment they need to avoid more costly diseases down the road. Then they clog emergency rooms, since that was their only financially realistic option under the heartless Jindal-era policy.
As Edwards has pointed out, Louisiana’s rural poverty is a huge problem, just as it is in the cities. Our state has not seen a rural hospital close since Medicaid expansion, which means the poor can get health care near to their homes.
No large government program is perfect, but the case for Medicaid expansion is compelling.
Online: https://www.theadvocate.com
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Oct. 2
The (Lake Charles) American Press on the emphasis of improving education in the legislative session:
All phases of education fared well at this year’s legislative session, but it’s going to take a few years to get all of them back to where they need to be. Drastic budget reductions over a decade were especially tough on higher education because it shifted the cost burdens for colleges and universities from the state to students and families.
Jay Dardenne, state commissioner of administration, talked about the status of higher education after meeting with the Louisiana Board of Regents to discuss budget proposals for 2020, according to a report in The Advocate.
Higher education experienced 16 budget cuts over 10 years, many of them mid-year budget cuts that are difficult to manage. Dardenne said he doesn’t think there are going to be any mid-year budget cuts this year.
“It went from being cut every year to not being cut in our first two years and being plussed up in our third year,” Dardenne said. “So it is clearly better than it has been for the past decade. It is not where we want it to be, but we are making progress.”
The Associated Press reported in June that this year’s budget debates were “a far cry” from prior legislative sessions when the TOPS tuition program was on the chopping block. State aid for colleges and universities grew by $47 million for the budget year that began July 1.
F. King Alexander, president of LSU, back in May, said, “We are grateful to the Louisiana House of Representatives for their votes today to stabilize higher education’s funding and even manage to make some investments. We’ve been working hard, telling our story and sharing the long-term benefits of higher education.”
Dardenne said institutions won’t get operating funds from the expected $500 million surplus in this year’s budget, but will get help in the capital outlay budget for deferred maintenance. Surpluses have to be used for one-time expenditures, and there are millions needed for college and university building maintenance.
Increased financial aid for higher education was made possible when Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature eventually came together and approved a seven-year 0.45% increase in the state sales tax that has made it possible to increase funding for higher education, K-12 education and childhood education.
As one spokeswoman said, the emphasis on improving all phases of education represented a big win for families in the state. She added that came because of a unified voice from business, education, nonprofit organizations and citizen advocates.
New emphasis on education is the best way to lift Louisiana off the low end of so many state rankings.
Online: https://www.americanpress.com
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