Ouachita Parish seeking more election workers at voting polls

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - Ouachita Parish has assigned commissioners to work the polls for the Oct. 14, 2023 election.

Although the parish says it has a significant number of election workers, obtaining them in smaller precincts like Calhoun tends to be its toughest challenge.

Early voting for the gubernatorial primary election began at the end of September and runs through Oct. 7. Leslie Lawson Caillouet, who’s the deputy clerk in the elections department of the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court’s office, says they’re seeing a need for more election workers - primarily in Calhoun.

“Most commissioners inside the city limits - they just don’t want to drive that far, and it’s a rural community so you have less people that live there,” said Caillouet.

Caillouet says the parish serves 87 precincts, and it has 345 commissioners working - along with 87 commissioners in charge and 49 building supervisors just for the October election.

“We’re focusing mainly on Calhoun precincts - also Ouachita Parish Junior High School,” said Caillouet.

Clerk of court deputies say it’s too late to become a commissioner for October, but if someone were to take the exam right now, they could possibly work the November run-off. But there are exceptions.

“How it works, if you get chosen by lottery selection to work October, you will also work November; unless required by the Secretary of State - something happens with a ballot, there’s a new tax proposition, or there’s not necessarily a run-off - there can be a couple of circumstances where they’ll have us redraw for the next election,” said Caillouet.

Calhoun remains the top area where Ouachita Parish is low on commissioners. If interested in becoming a poll worker in Ouachita Parish contact deputy clerk Leslie Lawson Caillouet of Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court - Elections Department at 318-327-1444 or lesliel@opcoc.la.gov. For other parishes, contact your clerk of court to find out if commissioners are needed where you live.

Here’s a full list of precincts showing where Ouachita Parish needs more poll workers:

- Precinct 2 (Sterlington Recreation Center)

- Precinct 5 (Osterland Recreation Center)

- Precinct 24 (MW Prince Hall Grand Masonic Lodge)

- Precinct 25 and 26 (Prairie Road Water District)

- Precincts 27 and 27A (WM Agricultural Building)

- Precinct 28 (Cypress Street Library)

- Precincts 40 and 48 (Lenwil Elementary)

- Precincts 44 and 44A (George Welch Elementary)

- Precincts 36, 43 and 50 (Kiroli Elementary)

- Precincts 51A, 52, 52A, 53 (Calhoun Middle School)

- Precincts 54 and 55 (Central Elementary School)

- Precincts 56, 56A and 57 (Woodlawn Elementary)

- Precinct 58 (Pinecrest Elementary)

- Precinct 61 (American Legion Hall)

- Precinct 63 (JS Clark Magnet School)

- Precinct 68 (Ouachita Parish Jr. High School)

- Precinct 75 (St. Albans Episcopal Church)

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