- A Jeanerette man weighs in on the Parish Council's decision to add another polling location in his town.
- Clerk of Court David Ditch, and District 12 Rep. Lady Fontenette Brown talk about how this decision will impact voters parish-wide.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“Cause let me tell ya, if it's gotten to the point where people gotta go to New Iberia to vote, then people will never get there." Jeanerette native Lawrence Jenkins, has been living (and voting) in Iberia Parish all his life.
“And are you planning to vote in this year's presidential [election]?"
“Yes ma'am!" said Jenkins.
With the 2024 presidential debate airing tonight, Lawrence says all things ‘election' is at the top of his mind, including where he'll cast his vote.
“A lot of ‘em don't have cars ok; a lot of people want gas money to go here and there. Like, for a person to go from here to New Iberia, they be wanting like $30 of gas money, and people don't have it."
“In order for our individuals in Jeanerette to vote early," explained District 12 Rep. Lady Fontenette Brown, "we have to travel about 20 minutes to the Iberia Parish Courthouse."
“It's the furthest, easternmost portion of the parish," said Iberia Parish Clerk of Court, David Ditch. "They have issues about accessibility and transportation, getting here to early vote." He said adding a polling place in Jeanerette has been an ongoing discussion for years.
“About a year ago we decided we'd bring it back. I told Lady Brown I'd assist her in getting all the information we needed from the state to make it a reality. We brought it up in committee two weeks ago with very little opposition, and last night [during the Parish Council meeting], we were able to get it passed."
Giving Iberia Parish Voters another place to go.
“You go back and you just look at early voting and voter turnout across the state," Lady Brown continued, "it has definitely been on the downtrend. The new location will hopefully—definitely get more individuals to participate in early voting."
She also wants to remind people that their vote truly matters.
“Be active in democracy and in the whole voting process. I think a lot of the time individuals may not believe their vote matters; but as an elected official I know your vote matters."
The 2024 Presidential Debate airs Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
For information on registering to vote, click here.
For election dates, and early voting information, click here.
