LOUISIANA VOTERS and POLITICAL PARTIES With less than 13% of all registered voters in Louisiana showing up to vote last Saturday… it’s a safe assumption that voting enthusiasm has hit a low. And that could be true of party affiliation as 25% of voters are either registered as ‘other’ or ‘no party. Could this be a trend? University of Louisiana at Monroe political science professor Joshua Stockley shared some observations with public radio WRKF in Baton Rouge. " I’m not ready to say that it means there's dissatisfaction with the party system. At the very least, it just means there's no advantage to be gained by declaring anything," explains Stockley. "Louisiana's electoral mechanism provides no incentive to register for a
party. It doesn't matter how you register: every individual gets the same ballot," Stockley added further "Republicans are still capable of voting for Democrats; Democrats are still capable of voting Republican; and independents are capable of voting in either direction."
Professor Stockley added that political success hinges on focusing on local issues and local messaging.
