Louisiana Keynotes Oct 2022

Attachment: 3186/Louisiana_Keynotes_October_2022_(2).pdf

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mericans have

come to

expect the

power of

government

to reign

down from the

top. We think of it as

similar to a monarchy,

with the President as

authority #1, then our

Congress, followed

by the court system.

The state government

then falls beneath the

federal, and local

government least of

all.

In reality, this

is almost exactly

backwards. Our

Constitution begins

with,

“We the People,”

setting the citizens

as the sovereign.

The

name of our nation is,

“The United States of

America.”

This sets the

individual states as the

mechanisms through

which the people

govern themselves, and

the nation as a union

of states.

Returning to a

government closest

to the people, we find

school boards. How

many of us know who

sits on our school

board, representing us

in the administration

of the resources,

and policies of our

schools?

How many of us know

what is required of

our children in the

classrooms, and on

the school campus in

general?

Recently, Mr. Ryan

Thames protested

sexually explicit books

in the children’s section

of the Livingston Parish

Public Library. He asked

that they be moved to

the adult section.

Can you guess how his

request was handled?

Gateway Pundit’s

Christopher Alexander

wrote of this issue in

his article,

“Louisiana Republican

Leaders Muted By The

Leftist Cabal”

“The books’ content is

so graphic that it had

to be redacted from a

local news article, and

no media outlets have

seen fit to publish the

actual material. What

makes the situation

even more alarming is

that the books were not

accidentally placed in

the kids’ section, they

were intended for their

consumption. In any

other setting besides

a public library, an

adult who provided

the material at

issue to a child

would likely

be arrested.”

https://www.

thegatewaypundit.

com/2022/09/

louisiana-

republican-

leaders-muted-leftist-

cabal/

The first question that

comes to my mind

is, who intended this

material to be made

available to children,

and why?

This reminds me of

audio clips that I’ve

heard from school

board meetings

throughout our nation,

where parents have

been shouted down,

and disciplined for

reading excerpts from

the very books that had

been assigned to their

children.

These parents have been

denied the opportunity

to read aloud to adults

material that has

been made available

or assigned to their

children by public

school administrators.

Can you guess why they

have been restrained

from reading it?

They

have

been

told that it

is due to the

pornographic nature

of the material. This

is being done by those

that are employed

to protect and

educate these young,

impressionable minds

in public libraries and

schools throughout

our nation, state, and

communities.

As of the writing of

Mr. Alexander’s article,

the only Louisiana

legislator supporting

this objection to public

libraries’ behavior is

Rep. Valarie Hodges.

Louisiana Association

of School Librarians

President, Amanda

Jones, had filed suit

against Mr. Thames

and Michael Lunsford,

founder of the

watchdog advocacy

group Citizens for a

New Louisiana. The suit

was dismissed by a

Livingston Parish Judge.

Are Louisiana State tax

resources being

used against

citizens, while

introducing

pornography

to minors

(criminal

activity) at the

same time?

Can this travesty

really be coming to

our schools, and/or

libraries?

Parents in Virginia

began realizing the

threats to their children

during the virtual

schooling of the

Covid lockdowns. As a

result, the citizens of

Virginia have almost

completely replaced

their government.

Whether we believe that

their replacements will

be faithful or successful

in correcting these

problems, the social and

emotional well-being of

our children is at risk.

It is of utmost

importance who

controls our school

systems, and who has

intimate access to our

children.

Do you know who

represents you and

your children on your

school board? If not,

perhaps this would be

a good time to become

acquainted with who

the candidates are for

these positions in the

upcoming election.

Dave Landry

State Content Writer

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Louisiana’s Trek to Paper Ballots and COSLA Support

ouisiana’s voting

systems have been

highly regarded

for election integrity.

The Heritage Foundation

ranks Louisiana ninth in

the nation on its Election

Integrity Scorecard, which

compares each state’s election

laws and regulations.
(https://www.heritage.org/
electionscorecard/index.
html)

However, Louisiana is in the

midst of a transformation

with its election systems.
Secretary of State Kyle
Ardoin has reported for a few

years that the aging voting

machines we’ve been using

need replacement. He and

his staff twice attempted to

issue requests for proposals

to voting machines vendors,

but political resistance led to

stopping the process.

Then in the 2021 legislature,
Secretary Ardoin joined

with state senator Sharon
Hewitt to support and pass a bill
Act 480, which defined general

parameters for the next voting

system, and COSLA heavily

supported this legislation.
Act 480 created a Voting

System Commission to make

recommendations for the next

voting system.

The key change is that

Louisiana is going to paper

ballots as the official tally of

election results. Act 480 of the

2021 legislature specifically said

the new voting system, “shall

produce an auditable voter-

verified paper record.” This

is an election integrity measure

Louisiana has not had in my

lifetime. The record must be

on “paper,” and many of us

have never voted with paper.

The voter must be able to verify

his or her vote, which means

typically the voter must be able

to look at the ballot and verify

that the votes on the ballot

are accurate.

Finally, that filled-in ballot

must be “auditable,” meaning

it can be checked if necessary.

In essence, the paper ballot is

the official vote, not the count

coming off a machine.

There is significant evidence

that electronic voting machines

are not trustworthy. Secretary

Ardoin himself publicly

lambasted Dominion Voting

Machine representatives over

their failure to advise Louisiana

of the compromises reported in

the Georgia litigation.

None of the criticism of

electronic systems is a criticism

of the parish Clerks of Courts

and Registrars of Voters who

conduct elections on the

ground in Louisiana.

Dale Clary serves as COSLA
Legislative Liaison.

He was a member of the

Secretary of State’s Voting

Systems Commission.

Dale Clary

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I remember hearing

people complain about

politics and their

concerns about our

country when I was a

child. Even in the late

1980’s, many people

were concerned about

where the country was

heading.

The year that President

Clinton ran, my school

participated for the first

time in a mock election

for the students. The

library at the school

was set up as a polling

place. We went in with

our IDs and were given

the chance to cast our

votes for president. I

don't remember who I

voted for but I remember

the activity and the

discussions that went

with it. Some of my

fellow classmates told

the teacher that their

parents didn’t vote

because their vote didn’t

matter anyway. Even

as a child I knew that

thinking was wrong.

But wait-look what

happened in the last

couple of elections with

the Electoral College

vs the Popular Vote.

The Electoral College

was included in the

Constitution to keep the

large population cities/

states from running over

the smaller population

states.

I would like to look

closer to home. We

are in the midst of

the campaigns for

midterm elections. In

this election cycle the

Electoral College is not

in play, so table that

issue. Right now in

the upcoming election
EVERY vote will be

counted, and EVERY

vote counts. This is your

chance to have input

on who will make the

important decisions that

will affect your everyday

lives. Remember that

just because you don’t

like who got elected,

doesn’t mean that your

vote doesn’t matter.

My grandfather once

told me, “If you

don’t vote you can't

complain.”

Bethany Coker

State Communications

Coordinator

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You can also contact your local Clerk of Court’s office for information about Election Commissioners.

Information about becoming an Election Commissioner is available at the Secretary of State’s website.

www.sos.la.gov

In the search box type “Election Commissioner”

To Serve as a Commissioner



You must:

•



Be a qualified voter or a 17 year-old U.S. citizen

(enrolled in 12th grade) able to handle the duties
of a commissioner

• Attend the general course of instruction



for new commissioners and pass the open book test

You will be

Paid:

• $200, if you attend the required pre-election class



• $100, if you miss the required pre-election class

To Serve as a Commissioner-in-Charge



Qualifications:

•

Must have worked at least 2 elections in

the last 4 years



• Must be proficient in all commissioner responsibilities

• Must attend a yearly course of instruction for

   Commissioners-in-Charge


• Must pass an open book test

You will be

Paid:

• $250, if you attend the required classes and handle one

precinct



• $350, if you attend the required classes and handle a



consolidated precinct

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Paid for by Convention of States Action, President Mark Meckler

5850 San Felipe, Ste. 580A, Houston, TX 77057 Phone: (540) 441-07227

Not authorized by any candidate or committee or in support of,

or opposition to, any candidate, committee or proposition.

FOLLOW US:

Interested in signing the petition, getting involved or joining one of our Teams?

For more information go https://conventionofstates.com

KeyNotes

is published periodically

by Convention of States Action Louisiana.

Newsletter Team includes:

Julie Sandifer - State Director

Bethany Coker - State Communications Coordinator

Newsletter Editor & Designer - Glenda Hardey

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Created:	2022-10-16 01:30 GMT
Updated:	2023-10-15 03:00 GMT
Published:	2022-10-27 18:00 GMT
Converted:	2025-11-11 12:24 GMT
Change Author:	Bethany Coker
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