Clerk’s office reports 58 percent turnout

Acadia Parish Clerk of Court Robby Barousse and Chief Deputy Blane Harmon both said that they were up much later Tuesday night than in other recent elections.

Understandable, considering 58 percent of the voters in Acadia Parish showed up to perform their civic duty in the Nov. 4 primary elections.

“It was past midnight before I went home,” Faulk said Wednesday morning. “We had some polls that didn’t get their results in as early as they normally do.”

By no means, however, were Faulk or Barousse complaining. 

“Fifty-eight percent is awesome,” said Barousse. “We had a lot of people who worked really hard for us yesterday. The commissioners, the commissioners in charge ... those guys had a long day and I want to thank them. I’d also like to thank the voters of Acadia Parish for exercising their right. What a strong turnout.”

The rules state that any voter who is in line at the time the polls close (8 p.m. on Tuesday) will be allowed to vote.

“We had people at a precinct in Church Point who were still lined up at 8:30,” said Barousse.

While 58 percent is an impressive number, the parish saw an even higher turnout just two years ago.

According to Faulk, 69 percent of parish voters turned out for the 2012 Presidential election between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. 

Despite the high numbers, Tuesday was a relatively smooth election for Barousse’s office.

“When the votes began to come in, they came fast,” said Faulk. “We had a few glitches to deal with, but we were done entering our numbers by 9:45 p.m.”