How did Washington Parish’s voter turnout in Saturday’s election compare with prior years?
The October 14, 2023 turnout was 43.9% on average (it is slightly different for each race on the ballot because some voters pick and choose.)
Four years ago, in 2019, 50.2% of parish voters turned out for the October primary election. And in 2015, it was 48.6%.
In earlier elections, the turnout percentage is not recorded. But there is a interesting comparision in numbers between the 2023 primary and the one held in October 1991.
In both years, this year and in 1991, the sheriff’s election was considered to be “hot.” In 1991 incumbent Sheriff Bennie Rayburn was challenged by Duane Blair and several others.
In the primary, Rayburn and Blair were the two top vote-getters, advancing to the November run-off. 17,067 people voted in the Sheriff’s primary election in 1991. A month later, 19,216 voted in the runoff, with Blair defeating Rayburn.
The 1991 Sheriff’s runoff between Bennie Rayburn and Duane Blair is still considered to be among the top turnout elections ever held in Washington Parish.
So...in 2023 a total of 12,273 people voted in what is considered to be a “hot” sheriff’’s election. In 1991, 19,216 people voted in the heavily-contested Rayburn-Blair sheriff’s election. That’s a difference of almost 7,000 votes.
