Although over 16,000 New Orleans voters requested absentee ballots for the recent primary election, only two-thirds of those voters successfully cast ballots that were counted. In order to ensure that the voice of every displaced voter is heard in the upcoming runoff election, scheduled for May 20th, 2006, the Louisiana Voting Rights Network (LVRN) has issued a set of measured recommendations to the Secretary of State's Office aimed at correcting the problems that voters encountered with the absentee voting process.  

The coalition has identified numerous voters who were unable to cast their ballots in the primary election because they encountered a busy fax signal at the Registrar's Office. The Network also identified voters who received their ballots too close to the election but could not afford to return their ballots by overnight mail.  Finally, many voters were identified who were confused about the requirements for completing the affidavit included with their ballots.