Registrar of Voters urges residents to check registration ahead of new closed-party primaries

Christy Blanchard, Iberia Parish registrar of voters, spent more than an hour briefing the council on recent changes to Louisiana’s primary rules and what local voters should do before May’s elections.

"They got rid of the party called independent party. Everyone is a no party now," Blanchard said, summarizing the legislative change and warning that five offices — U.S. Senate, U.S. representative, the state board of elementary and secondary education, the Supreme Court and the Public Service Commission — will use closed‑party primaries this year. She said postcards notifying households were sent by the Secretary of State and described the process no‑party voters must follow to participate in a primary that day: they may declare to vote as a Democrat or Republican by completing a short declaration that will be recorded for the remainder of that election cycle.

Blanchard told the council that the book of registered voters closes 30 days before an election and that the May 16 closed primary will be followed by a June 27 runoff if required. She urged voters who are listed as "no party" or who received mail marked as undeliverable to check their registration at the registrar’s office or online and to update their address if needed. "If they don't respond and haven't voted in two federal elections, they'll be cancelled," she said, describing the state’s inactive‑list process and noting the parish currently has about 6,000 inactive names on file — roughly double typical years.

Blanchard also walked through logistics: early voting in Iberia will run May 2–9 at the parish location and the Generet site, sample ballots would be posted online, and poll workers and commissioners will be trained to handle party declarations and machine lockouts. She warned that no‑party voters who opt to declare a party for the primary will be locked into that party for any subsequent runoff for the same race unless they change their registration more than 30 days before the runoff.

The registrar urged commissioners and residents to publicize the changes and said her office is available for one‑on‑one training for precinct commissioners. "If y'all have questions, please call," Blanchard told the council.

The council did not vote on any election‑related policy; Blanchard’s briefing was presented as voter education and outreach. The registrar recommended that voters check the GoVote portal or contact the registrar’s office to confirm active status and avoid surprises at the polls.