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2025 LEGISLATURE
Lawmakers OK purchase of new voting system
Senate panel OKs campaign finance overhaul BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Louisiana could be on track to replace more than 10,000 voting machines that are 35 years old.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
New bidding process approved for Secretary of State’s Office BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Louisiana may finally be on track to replace its decades-old voting machines, after years of controversies over how to do so. The Louisiana Legislature gave the Secretary of State’s Office the green light to use a new bidding process to pick a company that will replace the more than 10,000 machines that officials say are increasingly difficult to keep functioning. “Our machines are 35 years old, it’s impossible to find parts, and they don’t produce an auditable paper record for each vote cast,” Secretary of State Nancy Landry told lawmakers on the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee last month.
“Our machines are 35 years old, it’s impossible to find parts, and they don’t produce an auditable paper record for each vote cast. To put it bluntly, we’re in a dire situation, and we need a new voting system soon.”
process for state contracts. The new process will hopefully allow the state to speed up how quickly it purchases a new voting system, Landry said. But the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana says forgoing a public bidding process could lead to less transparency. NANCy LANDRy, “We just want to make sure that there Louisiana secretary of state will be something available for the public to see at the end of this process to understand why the Secretary of State’s Office “To put it bluntly, we’re in a dire situ- chose the vendor that it chose,” said PAR ation, and we need a new voting system Research Director Melinda Deslatte. “We’re not entirely certain yet if that insoon,” she said. Under House Bill 577, the office, which formation will be publicly available,” she runs elections, will be authorized to pur- added. “But we’re hopeful because the chase a new voting system using a bid- Secretary of State’s Office has indicated ding process called “invitation to negoä See VOTING, page 4A tiate” rather than a standard public bid
Weather service is filling jobs
Musk’s opposition prompts some in GOP to backtrack BY MARK BALLARD
BY KASEY BUBNASH
Staff writer
Staff writer
ä See WEATHER, page 4A
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 75 PAGE 8B
ä See CAMPAIGN, page 5A
La. Republicans still support spending bill
Move comes after Trump cut budget After losing hundreds of employees to budget cuts and layoffs implemented by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, the National Weather Service announced plans Tuesday to hire 126 workers to permanent positions while transferring existing employees to
The Louisiana Legislature could soon overhaul campaign finance laws for public officials, setting up new rules for political committees, raising the limit for which contributions have to be reported, and setting stricter rules for when campaign finance violations can be investigated. Supporters say the changes will “modernize” Louisiana’s Campaign Finance Disclosure Act so that it more closely aligns with federal rules. They also say the changes will more strongly protect the free speech rights of people who spend money to express political views. “Campaign finance law should be clear to prevent the wasting of constitutionally protected free speech dollars,” said Stephen Gelé, an attorney who has been involved in writing the bill. “Complaints of violation of campaign finance law should be handled judiciously and fairly, protecting the right of due process guaranteed by the United States and Louisiana Constitutions as well as protecting taxpayer dollars.” Gelé also represents Gov. Jeff Landry in an ongoing ethics dispute. House Bill 693, sponsored by Rep. Mark Wright, R-Covington, advanced out of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday without objection. To pass the Legislature, the measure still needs a vote by the full Senate, as well as a final stamp of approval from the House. During a public hearing last month, the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, a good-government watchdog group, raised concerns about the impact of the legislation. “There’s not a single thing here that I can find that makes it more transparent to the public,” said Steven Procopio, president of PAR. “It seems like it’s all about trying to make things easier for
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, makes a point as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, listens during a news conference on President Donald Trump’s bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON — Louisiana Republicans rallied around House leadership Wednesday as some Republicans said they regretted their vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and Elon Musk called for throwing out GOP representatives for those votes. Musk, who ended his role over the weekend as President Donald Trump’s point man to
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ä Congressional Budget Office says tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit.
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shrink the federal government, said the bill would add to the nation’s $36.2 trillion debt. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk posted Tuesday on X, the social media app he owns. On Wednesday, Musk doubled down, writing on X: “Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is
ä See SPENDING, page 4A
12TH yEAR, NO. 297