Detailed analysis of Louisiana voter trends.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

Though Barack Obama will not win in Louisiana, his candidacy has galvanized new African-American registration, which will help Senator Mary Landrieu and Representative Don Cazayoux get re-elected while helping Paul Carmouche and Don Cravins pick up seats in Northeast Louisiana and southwest Louisiana. Should they all win, we will have a 5-2 margin in the Louisiana Congressional delegation.

Stats From the Louisiana Secretary of State

Early Voting Statistics

You'll need to click on the link that says "Click here."


Or just click here.

Louisiana Early Voting

Dr. Michael McDonald -- United States Election Project
2008 Early Voting

Louisiana

Total Early Votes
266,880

Party

Dem
58.5%
Rep
28.4%
No/Oth
13.1%


Race

White 60.8%
Black 36.3%
Other 2.9%

Sex

Men
43.5%
Women
56.5%

Ballot

Absentee
5.1%
In-Person
94.9%

2008 Early Vote / 2004 Total Vote
13.6%


2004 / %Early (Ass. Press)
1,956,590 6.5%

Last Updated
10/29
(In-person early voting period ended 10/28)

WHAAAAT!!?

WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |9NEWS POLL: Landrieu leads; Presidential race tight in LA

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION (LOUISIANA)

MCCAIN: 43%
OBAMA: 40%
UNDECIDED/WON'T SAY: 17%
MARGIN OF ERROR: +/- 4.5%

The poll shows 93% of African American voters in Louisiana have a favorable opinion of Obama. "93% is almost total. It's unbelievable," Renwick said. "It's one of the highest percentages I've ever seen." The poll also took a look at what Louisiana voters think of Governor Bobby Jindal. 66% of voters surveyed say they have a favorable opinion of Jindal. That number jumped to 76% among Baton Rouge voters. "That's where the government is located and where he lives and works, which is even more complimentary towards him," Renwick said.

Jindal campaigning for Republican to take Delay's seat from Dem.

Races to Watch: A Texas Dem Tries to Keep DeLay's Seat - TIME

Carrying the united Republican banner is Pete Olson, a Navy veteran, native of Houston and former chief of staff to former Texas Senator Phil Gramm and current Texas Senator John Cornyn. Republican heavyweights including President George W. Bush, Gov. Mitt Romney and popular conservative Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have stood shoulder to shoulder with Olson at campaign appearances and fundraisers as he rails against Lampson as a closet liberal out of step with the district's conservative voters.

More (uninformed) speculation about Jindal from The New Republic.

What About Bobby? - The Plank

Now, yes, four years is a longer time in politics than it used to be. But I still don't see these toxins leaching out that quickly, particularly from a GOP that will, in all likelihood, continue trying to raise subliminal doubts about Obama's Americanness. Add to this the blunt fact that the GOP probably can't afford to lose racist white voters, especially in the South (you think a Jindal - Obama race wouldn't invite a conservative, white, third-party candidacy?), and I think Jindal's chance of being the nominee in 2012 is, despite his obvious talents, pretty close to nil. The GOP isn't going to be looking for its own Obama; it's going to be looking for an anti-Obama.

--Christopher Orr

Jindal best republican hope.

Politics Home Handheld

Amidst speculation as to what road the Republican Party will take after the election, the Online100 believes that, outside of John McCain and Sarah Palin, 37 year old Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal is most likely to emerge as the GOP's brightest star.

A convincing 54% of the panel see Governor Jindall in this light. The figure breaks down as 30% of the left, 42% of the right, and 29% of non-aligned panelists.

I did not know this. Limbaugh + Jindal = Reagan

2theadvocate.com | News | Analysis: Speculation swirls about Jindal's future — Baton Rouge, LA

Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh has called Jindal "the next Ronald Reagan." Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich met with Jindal last week and told reporters after the visit, "I think you have maybe the smartest governor in this country."

Louisiana's voting machines are "easy to hack"

Louisiana uses Sequoia voting machines exclusively.  This Princeton report indicates that they are seriously flawed.

Study: Sequoia e-voting machines disturbingly easy to hack

The Princeton University Center for Information Technology Policy has published a report disclosing security vulnerabilities that researchers have detected in Sequoia's AVC Advantage voting machine. According to the researchers, the machine can be completely compromised by replacing a single ROM chip—a task that they were able to complete in only seven minutes.

From Bradblog:

The 158-page report [PDF] was released publicly on Friday afternoon warning, among other things, that:

* The lost votes during New Jersey's Super Tuesday elections "were caused by two different programming errors on the part of Sequoia"
* "New Jersey should not use any version of the AVC Advantage that it has not actually examined with the assistance of skilled computer-security experts."
* "The AVC Advantage’s susceptibility to installation of a fraudulent vote-counting program is far more than an imperfection: it is a fatal flaw."
* "The AVC Advantage is too insecure to use in New Jersey."

Caution: Make sure your vote counts. Read this article before you vote!

The BRAD BLOG : ES&S Touch-Screen Votes Now Flipping in TX Too! Obama/DNC Attorneys Still AWOL!

This is just getting worse and worse. Now it's happening in Texas. (And in MO, if you read to the end of the article). And the vaunted "thousands of attorneys" from the Obama campaign and the DNC are still nowhere to be found.

With every incident so far reported of touch-screen vote-flipping during early voting in this year's general election --- from county to county in WV and in Nashville, TN) --- it's been the ES&S iVotronic touch-screen machine that has failed, flipping votes from one candidate to another not chosen by the voter. In most every instances [see update below], it's been an attempted Democratic vote, flipped to a Republican, or another party.

. . . . . .

• Call poll supervisors to observe the problem
• Fill out a problem report
• Refuse to vote on that machine
• Request that the machine be taken out of service
• Get a serial number of the machine if possible (may be unlikely in many cases)
• Tell other voters not to vote on that machine
• Call county/town election office
• Call local reporters
• Call voter problem hotlines (eg. 866-MYVOTE1 and 866-OUR-VOTE)
• Contact bloggers and Election Integrity websites.
• Raise holy hell.

Jindal's opportunity if McCain loses.

Jindal Makes a Political Power Play - The Fix

Make no mistake: If John McCain goes down to defeat in 13 days time and Republicans in the House and the Senate face significant setbacks as well, there will be a real desire from the grassroots of the Republican party for fresh faces on the national scene.

Jindal -- a young (he's 37), conservative Indian American governor -- is almost certain to feature prominently in that conversation. And, as much as his political team pooh poohs the idea that he would be interested in national office in four years' time, consider these two things: he has already gotten a taste of the national limelight by his consideration in the veepstakes and his handling of Hurricane Gustav, AND he is visiting Iowa next month. (As we have written before, politicians NEVER -- we can't stress this enough -- go to Iowa accidentally. They know exactly what a trip to Iowa means.

That's some expensive church service.

Holy Helicopter: Louisiana Governor Gets A High-Priced Ride To Church | The Wall of Separation

A devout Roman Catholic taking a helicopter to attend Sunday morning services at a Baptist church nearly 200 miles from his house followed by lunch with “local officials” at a shooting range—sounds like a politician on his campaign trail.

Except for the fact that campaign money isn’t flying the helicopter. Rather, it’s more than $180,000 in taxpayer money fueling in-state trips like these for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. That’s the total cost of Jindal’s travel itinerary in State Police helicopters from January 2007 until Sept. 1, 2008, according to a report in the Baton Rouge Advocate.

Romney: Jindal to run for president?

2theadvocate.com | News | Ex-candidate Romney sees White House run for Jindal — Baton Rouge, LA

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney predicted Thursday that Gov. Bobby Jindal will consider a 2012 run for the White House if John McCain loses on Nov. 4.

“Bobby Jindal will certainly be taking a look at it,” Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said on WWL-Radio.

Jindal denied Thursday afternoon that he is mounting a presidential campaign despite multiple fundraising trips outside the state and an upcoming visit to Iowa.

“I am not running for the White House in 2012,” Jindal said.

Back in .

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Republicans Reverse Course in Lousiana
Rothenberg Political Report: The NRSC "has reversed an earlier decision to cancel its last two weeks of advertising in Louisiana. Instead, it has purchased TV time next week and will wait to decide whether to buy the final week before Election Day. The decision comes on the heels of GOP polling showing that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) has only a mid-single digit lead over challenger John Kennedy (R)."

FiveThirtyEight.com still has Landrieu as a 99% favorite.

Hmmmm . . . .

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

The 2012 Race Begins
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) "will keynote a high-profile Christian conservative fundraising dinner next month in Iowa," according to Jonathan Martin.

"It will be Jindal's first visit to Iowa... The trip is a reminder that, even with a presidential election looming, caucus politics is never far away in the Hawkeye State.

GOP concedes LA senate race.

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

GOP Pulls Ads in Louisiana Senate Race
The NRSC "has decided to pull its television advertising out of Louisiana, a decision that drastically reduces the party's chances at its lone takeover opportunity in this election cycle," according to The Fix.

"The decision to stop advertising in the race against Landrieu reflects a recognition by the NRSC of the stark financial reality it faces in the fall campaign. The Republican committee has been consistently outraised by its Democratic counterpart and, as the political environment has worsened for the GOP in recent weeks, several Republican senators that appeared safe -- Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) to name two -- have suddenly appeared more vulnerable."