Posted on 09/29/2002 6:31:27 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Democratic Party still dominant among Cenla voters Less than 20 percent of area voters are Republicans Andrew Griffin / Staff Reporter Posted on September 29, 2002
Despite all the inroads made by Republicans in Louisiana over the past two decades, Cenla remains a bastion of Democratic voters.
That doesn't mean that those Democrats always support their party's candidate. In fact, it's not unusual for most Cenla parishes to vote Republican in presidential or gubernatorial races.
But when it comes to voter registration, the Democratic Party is the party of choice for the vast majority of voters in this area.
Despite the generally conservative nature of many Cenla residents, Republicans don't make up 25 percent of the registered voters in any of the area parishes.
Meanwhile, Democrats make up 64.2 percent of the voters in Cenla.
A growing trend is for voters to register as independents or with a party other than Republican or Democrat.
In several Cenla parishes and even statewide, "other party" registered voters aren't too far behind in numbers than registered Republicans.
Overall, 19.4 percent of Cenla's voters are registered Republicans while 16.4 percent are independent or other party.
Cenla voters will get a chance to exercise their right to vote next Saturday as they go to the polls to decide numerous elections, including municipal races and tax referendums.
Hundreds of them voted absentee this past week because they plan to be out of town - or in the woods hunting - on Election Day.
While minority participation in elections has grown over the years, nearly three-fourths of the registered voters in Cenla are white.
The 13 parishes of central Louisiana have a total of 275, 897 registered voters. Of those, 205,507 (74.5 percent) are white; 64,276 (23.3 percent) are black; and 6,114 (2.2 percent) are other race, including Asians and Hispanics.
In each of the 13 area parishes, the majority of registered voters are Democrats.
Evangeline Parish has the highest percentage of Democrats, with 79 percent of that parish's voters registered as Democrats. Avoyelles Parish and Allen Parish each have more than 74 percent of their voters registered as Democrats.
In Rapides Parish, Democrats make up 57.5 percent of voters. The least Democratic area parish is Beauregard, where 55.18 percent of voters are affiliated with that party.
Beauregard is also the only area parish where "other party" voters outnumber Republicans.
Statewide, 67.3 percent of the voters are white, 29.2 percent are black, and 3.5 percent are independent or other race.
Democrats make up 58 percent of Louisiana's 2,776,951 registered voters, while Republicans account for 23 percent, and independent and other party voters make up 19 percent.
In Cenla's most populous parish, Rapides, there are 126,566 residents, according to the 2000 census.
Of those, 78,214 are registered voters, with 55,697 white voters (71.2 percent), 20,746 black voters (26.5 percent) and 1,771 of "other" races (2.3 percent).
Democrats make up the majority of voters in Rapides with 44,950. Of those, 62 percent are white and 37 percent black. Other races make up 1.3 percent of Democrats in Rapides Parish.
There are 19,174 Republican voters in Rapides Parish, making up 24.5 percent of the voters. The overwhelming majority - 93.3 percent - are white. Blacks make up 4.7 percent of Republicans in Rapides, and 2 percent are other.
A smaller amount of voters support parties other than Republicans and Democrats. They include supporters of the Reform, Libertarian, Green, Constitution and other parties.
Joanell Wilson, registrar of voters for Rapides Parish, said the highest number of voters are older white females residing in rural areas.
For instance, in the 1999 gubernatorial election, 54 percent of voters ages 55 to 64 voted. Of voters in the 21 to 34 age group, less than 25 percent voted.
In the 2000 presidential election, the voting percentages for each age group were higher but proportionally the same.
The greatest number of voters was again ages 55 to 64, with 78 percent of that group voting. And as before, the lowest number of voters was in the 21 to 34 age range, with 48 percent voting.
What was interesting, Wilson said, is that voters 18 to 20 years of age vote a little more often than those ages 21 to 34.
"First-time voters may be more interested," Wilson said. "They're usually thinking about it."
As for those in their late 20s and into their 30s, Wilson said many are busy with their careers or starting families.
"They're busy with whatever life is bringing their way," she said.
Wilson said another aspect worth noting is that women vote more often than men do.
Again using the 2000 presidential election as an example, Wilson said females outvoted males by three percentage points - 63.9 percent to 60.9 percent. And in the gubernatorial election a year earlier, 44.9 percent of females voted compared to 39.4 percent of males.
"Statistically, we've seen that females vote more often than males," Wilson said.
Regarding political party affiliation, Wilson said more voters are choosing no political affiliation when registering to vote. While Democrats are still strong in Rapides Parish and statewide, they aren't showing any growth. Republicans are showing some growth, she said.
Jason Hebert, political director for the Louisiana Republican Party, said while it is taking time, Republicans are gaining strength, particularly in areas like central Louisiana and the 5th Congressional District.
"Actually, statewide we've seen a lot of growth and large amounts of registrations," Hebert said. "It started with the (2000 presidential election) Florida debacle. It was then that we picked up a lot of undecided voters, independents and even some Democrats that switched over."
Hebert said voters join the Republican Party because they "identify with our conservative beliefs" and that people who want to improve their life and want a reduction in government intrusion in their affairs switch to the GOP.
As for the Democrats, Susan East, communications director for the Louisiana Democratic Party headquarters in Baton Rouge, said that with agricultural-based voters and fewer blue-collar workers in Cenla, the number of Democrats has stayed about the same over the past decade.
East said the gerrymandering of the 5th District actually helped it gain Democrats and that the lone major Democratic candidate, Rep. Rodney Alexander of Quitman, is expected to do well in the district.
Alexander "appeals to that district's conservative values, but he's still a Democrat," East said.
The 5th Congressional District election is set for Nov. 5, along with the U.S. Senate race and other congressional races.
Natchitoches and Concordia parishes have the highest percentages of black voters in Cenla, with 37.2 and 35 percent, respectively. The percentage in Rapides is 26.5 percent.
The parishes with the highest percentages of white voters are LaSalle (91 percent), Grant, (86.9 percent), Beauregard (85 percent) and Vernon (83.3 percent).
Racially, the number of eligible white voters in Rapides Parish has remained steady, while African-American, Hispanic, Asian and others are rising, Wilson said.
The turnouts for elections vary depending on who and what are on the ballot.
"Some races will garner more interest than others," Wilson said. "But overall, the turnout for elections in Louisiana is consistently higher than in other states."
She said a contributing factor has been the state allowing voters to cast ballots on Saturday.
Wilson also is proud of the new touch-screen absentee voter ballot machine provided by Elections Systems and Software. They are expected to permanently replace the old polling machines in 2004.
They are currently in use for all elections in Tangipahoa and Ascension parishes.
"I think the voting public will like them," Wilson said.
Wilson said Louisiana's system of voting is very good.
"Not a state in the nation that can touch it," she said.
In other parishes in Cenla, the voting numbers varied.
In Avoyelles Parish, Registrar of Voters Lonnie "Speed" Juneau said more than half of the parish's 40,846 residents are registered to vote.
State figures show there are 25,980 registered voters in Avoyelles.
"That's actually pretty good," Juneau said.
When there are parish-wide races, like the district attorney and district judge races on Oct. 5, more people turn out to vote, Juneau said. But with hunting season starting the same day, it can be tough getting more voters to the polls, he said.
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