NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana’s return to closed-party primaries is prompting some voters to change their registration ahead of the state’s high-profile U.S. Senate race.

Cheron Brylski, a longtime Democratic political strategist and consultant, said she changed her registration from Democrat to No Party so she could choose which primary to vote in on May 16.

“I felt that this whole exercise is meant to disenfranchise urban voters who are largely Democrats,” Brylski told FOX 8.

Louisiana voters will cast ballots May 16 in closed-party primaries for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Louisiana Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Under the system approved by lawmakers in 2024 for the 2026 elections, registered Democrats can vote only in Democratic primaries and registered Republicans can vote only in Republican primaries.

Voters registered as No Party can choose either the Democratic or Republican ballot at the polls.

“So, when you get ready to vote in the May election, when you go to the polls, you will be given a form asking if you’re, if you’re “No Party”, asking if you want to vote in the Republican or the Democratic closed primary or not vote in any of them. And so, you have that choice. And so, you will select them. You will go into the voting booth and vote on that ballot,” said Trey Williams, Deputy Secretary of State for Communications and Policy.

If a runoff is needed in June, No Party voters must stick with the same party primary they selected in May. In the November general election, they can vote for any candidate on the ballot.

“When the runoff occurs in June, you would still need to vote in that party primary that you selected. Then when we get to the general election in November you can vote for anybody you would like, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green party, whoever is on the ballot there.” Williams said.

Brylski her decision was about making sure her voice is really heard during the primary election.

“I wanted to have a say in who I could choose between in November, whether it was the Republican or the Democrat, that the only way to vote against the MAGA-endorsed candidate was to change to No Party. And that way, by participating in the primaries, the Republican primary, as a no party voter, then I could vote basically against the MAGA-endorsed candidate,” she said.

Still, she said the move was difficult.

“And it was a very hard decision for me to make. I’ve been a lifelong Democrat. I still consider myself a Democrat. But I do think this whole process is disenfranchising voters. It’s limiting actually, I think it’s a move to destroy the Democratic Party in Louisiana, because it’s taken our votes completely out of who will be on that November ballot,” Brylski said.

Williams said voters who want to change their registration in person or by mail have until April 15. Those making the change online through GeauxVote have until April 25.

The Secretary of State’s Office said it is already seeing movement in voter registration.

“Well, we’ve actually seen a trend over the past year. So, we have seen the number of no party voters in the state increase by about 8,200 voters. We’ve also seen the Republican, numbers increase as well by about 6,500, uh, voters,” Williams said.

Some political observers think the state returned to the closed party system to hurt Sen. Bill Cassidy’s re-election bid after he voted to convict President Donald Trump during one of his impeachment trials.

“I definitely think that the purpose was to empower MAGA-endorsed candidates, and he has not,” Brylski said.

There are three Democrats running for the Senate seat.

“And so Democratic voters in the primary won’t be able to say they support [Sen. Bill] Cassidy if they like him. They’ll just choose between three candidates or they will choose between Democratic candidates who haven’t even gotten support from the National Democratic Party.

Brylski said she plans to switch back.

“I will be voting as a Democrat in November, but not right now. I’ll be voting as a No-Party person in the Republican primaries,” Brylski said.

Williams said voters can change their party registration whenever they choose, as long as they meet the deadline before an election.

Third-party voters, such as Libertarians and Greens, cannot vote in either party’s May primary, though they can still vote on other items on the ballot and in the fall general election.

“If you register Green Party you cannot participate. So yes, so if you were in a third-party, like Libertarian Party, Green Party then you cannot participate in the Republican or Democratic closed-primaries, but there are other items on the ballot that you can participate in,” Williams said.

Early voting for the May 16th primary is May 2-May 9.

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