Election Day 2020 updates

Today, Lincoln Parish voters headed to the polls to make their voices heard on a broad slate of local, regional, statewide and federal elections. Since Wednesday's edition of the Ruston Daily Leader will print before election results are tallied, the Leader will update this online story throughout the night as developments take place.

Each new update will be added to the top of the page and will indicate what time it was published.

Lincoln Parish backs Trump

12:35 a.m. — In the biggest election of the night, Lincoln Parish voters put their weight behind Republican President Donald Trump with 59% of the local vote, compared to Democrat challenger Joe Biden's 39%.

That comes out to 11,311 votes for Trump and 7,559 votes for Biden locally. Total turnout for the parish was 69%, an improvement of 2.1% from the 2016 presidential race.

Trump also easily carried Louisiana, a long-time Republican-voting state, with 58% of the vote to Biden's 40%.

Nationally, the race has not yet been called as of this writing, with several battleground states still up in the air. Experts say the final tallies may not be available for a few days.

Parish voters align with state on amendment items

12:30 a.m. — Lincoln Parish voters voted exactly the same way as did their peers across Louisiana in adopting five new state constitutional amendments and rejecting two.

Parish voters also approved a local-option sports wagering proposal.

Here’s a quick look at the amendments:

No. 1 – No Right to Abortion. Voters approved that amendment, meaning there will be nothing in the constitution protecting the right to an abortion. But the amendment has no immediate effect.

No. 2 – Oil and Gas Well Assessment. Voters approve that amendment also. It allows for the local assessors to consider the value of oil and gas production when figuring local property taxes on oil and gas wells.

No. 3 – Voters approved a change in the state’s rainy day fund to allow it to be tapped when there’s a federal disaster.

No. 4 – Voters rejected this proposal that would have created a new state budget spending limit with probably slower growth. 

No. 5 – Voters also rejected this proposal that would have provided new options for manufacturers and local governments to schedule payments instead of property taxes for industrial expansions.

No. 6 – Voters approved this amendment that will expand property tax freezes for residents who are age 65 or older; disabled veterans; surviving spouses of members of the military who were killed in action; and the totally disabled.

No. 7 – Voters approved this amendment that will protect unclaimed property money in a new state trust fund. The state treasurer would invest the balance, including up to 50% in stocks and other equities. If the claims ever exceed collections in a given year, the treasurer would tap into the balance of the Unclaimed Property Fund to handle the claims.

Sports wagering proposition – Lincoln Parish voters approved the local option 55% to 45%. However, the wagering would not happen immediately. Such bets would continue to be illegal until state laws and regulations are adopted, including methods of taxation.

Ward 4 selects new constable

12:30 a.m. — Shana Freeman is the new Constable Justice of the Peace for Ward 4.

Complete but unofficial returns from Tuesday’s election show Freeman ran away with the race, trampling incumbent Sharonda Hatter with 81% of the votes cast to Hatter’s 19%.

Freeman claims no political party; Hatter is a Democrat.

Of the 1,927 votes cast, Freeman won 1,568 to Hatter’s 359.

Unofficial voters turnout in Ward 4, the Dubach area, was 68%, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website.

McCallum, Campbell win supreme court, public service commission bids

12:10 a.m. — Appellate Judge Jay McCallum, of Farmerville, is heading to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

McCallum, a Republican, won his race Tuesday to become associate judge for the supreme court’s 4th District. Complete but unofficial returns from Tuesday’s election show McCallum beat fellow Republican Judge Shannon Gremillion, 57% to 43% districtwide.

By the numbers, that means McCallum polled 122,443 votes to Gremillion’s 93,531. 

In Lincoln Parish, McCallum ran away with the race, polling 78% of the vote to Gremillon’s 22%. Of the 16,198 local votes cast, McCallum won 12,584.

McCallum is a former 3rd Judicial District judge who’s now on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The 3rd Judicial District is Lincoln and Union Parishes.

Gremillion is from Concordia Parish and sits on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal. 

In the race for the regional member of Louisiana’s Public Service Commission, incumbent Foster Campbell eked out a win, defeating challenger Shane Smiley with 53% of the vote to Smiley’s 47%.

Campbell, a Bossier City Democrat, won Lincoln Parish by only 69 votes over Smiley, a Monroe Republican who’s a member of the Ouachita Parish Police Jury.

Cassidy cruises, Letlow locked in runoff

11:50 p.m. — Republican Senator Bill Cassidy handily defeated 14 challengers tonight to cruise into his second congressional term. The Baton Rouge doctor carried 60% of the vote statewide at the time of this writing with a little more than 100 precincts left to report out of 3,934.

Lincoln Parish voters also heavily favored Cassidy, as he claimed 61% of the local vote with Democrat challenger Adrian Perkins in a distant second place at 16% with all precincts in.

Garnering an outright majority means that Cassidy will not have to enter a runoff in December.

Meanwhile, the race to replace Ralph Abraham in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 5th Congressional District will be heading to a runoff.

Abraham's former chief of staff, Republican Luke Letlow, finished in first tonight with 33% of the vote. Fellow Republican and current member of the state Legislature Lance Harris barely edged Democrat Sandra "Candy" Christophe for second place to enter the runoff. Harris garnered 17% of the vote, with Christophe earning 16%. A mere 456 votes separated the two.

Letlow and Harris will face off one-on-one in the Dec. 5 runoff as a result of Louisiana's jungle primary system.

Hawkins, Pollard headed to runoff in marshal race

11:30 p.m. — Former Ruston Police Lt. Curtis Hawkins and current Deputy City Marshal Anthony Pollard, Sr., appear headed into a runoff for Ruston city marshal.

Complete but unofficial returns from today's election show Hawkins with 40% of the vote to Pollard’s 31%. Hawkins is a Republican; Pollard, a Democrat.

The two men will meet in the Dec. 5 runoff. They’re hoping to fill the seat left vacant by retiring Marshal Jim Liner. 

Of the other two men in the race, contender Richard Otwell, a Republican, won 16% of the vote and Eddy Griffith, No Party, 13%. Otwell and Griffith are also deputy marshals, with Otwell serving as chief deputy.

The city marshal has parishwide jurisdiction and is technically not a part of Ruston city government. Consequently, voters across the parish elect marshal.

Hawkins took an early lead in the four-way race and never lost it, though the gap between him and Pollard got as close as 4 percentage points.

With still fewer than half of the parish’s 57 precincts reporting, Hawkins grabbed a lead at 40% and never let go.

Here’s the race by the numbers:

Griffith – 2,421

Hawkins – 7,357

Otwell – 2,845

Pollard – 5,713

Some 18,336 votes were cast; that’s an unofficial 66% turnout, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website.

Pro-life amendment to pass with strong local, state support

11:05 p.m. — An amendment to the Louisiana constitution that would declare that there is no right to and no funding for abortion is set to pass by a healthy margin tonight, including a large lead in Lincoln Parish.

Complete but unofficial returns show that more than twice as many Lincoln Parish voters favored the amendment than opposed it, with 12,510 affirmative votes and 6,107 voting "no." That's a 67% to 33% split.

Statewide, with 3,805 of 3,934 reporting, the amendment garnered 65% support. 

It will not become relevant unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision. Should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade and voters approve the amendment, Louisiana could prohibit abortions.

Tatum wins reelection

10:40 p.m. — Lincoln Parish voters have elected Ruston City Judge Danny Tatum to a fourth term.

Complete but unofficial returns from today’s election show Tatum, an Independent, won 56% of the vote over challenger Gina Jones.

Jones, who claims no party affiliation, won 44% of the 17,859 votes cast. By the numbers that means Tatum polled 9,978 to Jones’ 7,881. 

Unofficial voter turnout was just under 64%, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website.

“I’m very excited and humbled and thankful to all my friends and supporters and the people of Lincoln Parish,” Tatum said. “We plan to look ahead to areas where we can improve and continue on as best we can.”

The city court has parishwide jurisdiction and is technically not a part of Ruston city government. Consequently, voters across the parish elect the judge.

Tatum took the lead in the early votes cast and never lost it as in-person Election Day precincts began reporting. He begins his new term in January.

This year’s race was the first time in 21 years there had been a race for city judge.

Tatum was elected in 1999 to fill the unexpired term of former Judge Robbie James who moved to the federal bench. Tatum had drawn no opposition in subsequent elections until this year.

Jones is the city court’ indigent defender attorney and was a first-time candidate.

Durrett claims police jury seat

10:25 p.m. — Lincoln Parish Police Jury District 3 has chosen a new juror for the second year in a row.

Complete but unofficial returns show former Parish Administrator Richard Durrett carrying 61% of the vote to defeat incumbent Marvin Franks. Durrett garnered 1,274 votes to Franks' 806.

"I’m excited about getting on the jury," Durrett said tonight. "I had a lot of people helping me, and I’d like to thank them as well as the voters of Lincoln Parish for the confidence they had in me. I’ll work hard to represent all of District 3."

District 3 includes the Village of Simsboro and the surrounding unincorporated communities. Total turnout in the race across six precincts was 69.1%, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State's website.

Durrett, who once led the jury's staff as parish administrator for 17 years, said his focus as a juror will be on roads and bridges, solid waste, and the budget.

Franks triumphed in a November 2019 runoff as a first-time candidate but could not take his oath of office in time due to hang-ups in his retirement from the National Guard. The jury appointed him to fill the District 3 seat, but he had to run again this year for the rest of the term.

Grambling sales tax passes at polls

9:50 p.m. — GRAMBLING - Grambling voters have approved a new quarter-cent sales tax. Complete but unofficial returns show 63% of voters backed the tax that is dedicated primarily to economic development.

“I’m elated that it appears as if the citizens have passed it,” Grambling Mayor Ed Jones said.

Of the 1,071 votes cast, 675 were for the tax and 396 against it.  Voter turnout was 49%, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website.

The new sales tax is effective Jan. 1. It’s expected to generate approximately $40,000 annually.

Jones said he wants to bring more of what he called “essential businesses” to Grambling. He said he also hopes “to set up some sort of industrial park where we might can employ some of our citizens in some sort of small industry.”

Letlow leads but runoff looks likely

9:30 p.m. — Ralph Abraham's former chief of staff is leading the way in the race to replace him in the U.S. House of Representatives, but it appears likely that no candidate will meet the majority vote threshold needed to avoid entering a runoff in December.

Republican Luke Letlow holds a lead with 34% of the 5th Congressional District vote as of this writing with about three quarters of precincts reporting. His closest competitors are fellow Republican Lance Harris at 18% and Democrat Sandra "Candy" Christophe with 17%.

In Louisiana's jungle primaries, if no one candidate garners a majority of the votes, the top two finishers enter a one-on-one runoff election.

In Lincoln Parish, it's Democrat and Grambling State University administrator Martin Lemelle, Jr. who still holds the second most votes behind Letlow with 42 of 57 local precincts reporting as of this writing, but he trails at a distant fourth across the full district.

Tatum, Pollard, Durrett capture leads from early voters

9:15 p.m. — Among the three major local races in Lincoln Parish tonight, the results from early voting showed one incumbent in the lead, one trailing, and a tight multi-man contest in the race with no incumbent.

Long-time Ruston City Judge Danny Tatum garnered 54% of the early voting totals in his first-ever race with opposition, with challenger Gina Jones claiming the other 46%. That's about a 700-vote split with just over 8,600 early voters casting ballots.

Current District 3 Police Juror Marvin Franks saw challenger Richard Durrett jump to an early lead with 58% of the pre-Election Day ballots to Franks' 42%. That's a difference of a little over 100 early voters.

Finally, Anthony Pollard, Sr. claimed a very narrow lead among early voters in the Ruston City Marshal's race with 38% of the vote to Curtis Hawkins' 37%. Eddy Griffith and Richard Otwell trailed with 13% each. Eighty-one voters divided Pollard and Hawkins.

Parish early voting results show tight U.S. Rep split

9 p.m. — Results from a record-setting early voting in Lincoln Parish are in, and the local preference for Ralph Abraham's replacement as U.S. Representative in the 5th Congressional District started out with a fairly close split.

Republican Luke Letlow, Abraham's former chief of staff, led early parish voters with 30% of the total, while Democrat and Grambling State University administrator Martin Lemelle, Jr. claimed the second most votes with 26% among early voters. Democrat Sandra Christophe captured 13% for third place, and Republican Lance Harris rounded out the top finishers with 10% of the early total.

Lincoln Parish early voters were also closely divided on the presidential race, favoring incumbent Donald Trump 51% to challenger Joe Biden's 47%.

Background: 2019 police jury winner must face new challenger a year later

8:40 p.m. — District 3 Police Juror Marvin Franks runs against a new challenger in Richard Durrett after winning the seat just last year.

After triumphing in a November, 2019 runoff, Franks, who was a warrant officer with the National Guard at the time, was retroactively informed by a federal office in Washington, D.C. that his running for office was in violation of the Hatch Act because the contest was a "partisan" election.

He was already in the process of retiring from the Guard, but he could not complete his discharge before the deadline to take his oath of office. Then the police jury appointed Franks to the position in February, which the federal government said was perfectly legal. But as an appointee, Franks had to run for the office again this year.

He now faces Durrett, who once served as parish administrator (the police jury's top employee) for 17 years. Durrett said he wants to emphasize fiscal responsbility on the jury and improve the parish's roads, bridges, solid waste and disposal. He also promised to support trimming "less efficient and non-productive" activities on the jury.

Meanwhile, Franks promised to be a juror for those who are fed up with "politics as usual," vowing to evaluate all areas of the budget as finance committee chairman.

The jury is coming off two years without its usual $1 million in oil and gas severance tax revenue due to some retroactive tax exemptions granted to several wells in the area. The ensuing deficit in the general fund is something the jury has worked to mitigate this year.

Background: Four-way marshal race mostly an in-house affair

7:05 p.m. — The election to replace outgoing Ruston City Marshal Jim Liner drew four contenders: the current deputy marshals and one retired Ruston police officer. The three deputy marshals: Eddy Griffith, Richard Otwell, and Anthony Pollard, Sr. Meanwhile, Curtis Hawkins joins the field as a retired city police leiutenant.

The three deputy marshals each cited their experience in the office while campaigning, while Hawkins is running on his "well-honed leadership and communication skills" fostered by 30 years in law enforcement.

Otwell told the Leader in October that he believes his role as chief deputy marshal and one-on-one training from Liner set him apart. Griffith said he'd like to lead the office toward participating in more community aid programs and developing a greater communication between law enforcement and the citizens they serve. Pollard focused on his ability to ensure the marshal's office is meticulous in its accounting and record-keeping procedures.

Background: City judge faces first race in decades

6:45 p.m. — Ruston City Judge Danny Tatum drew an election challenger for the first time in 21 years: Gina Jones, the city court's indigent defender attorney.

Tatum was elected in 1999 and has not drawn opposition until now. Jones is a first-time political candidate.

The city judge has parishwide jurisdiction and is technically not part of Ruston city government, so all Lincoln Parish voters will weigh in on the race.

In their answers to questions from the Leader earlier in the campaign, Tatums said he is running on his experience, record on the bench, and history with the local community, while Jones aims to provide a "fresh perspective" and offered several proposed changes for the future of the court.

Record early voting in Lincoln Parish

4:50 p.m. — Election Day follows a record early voting turnout in the parish. Some 8,971 voters cast early ballots, according to the local Registrar of Voters office.

That means about 32% of the parish's registered voters already cast their ballots before Election Day. That represents a 153% jump over the early vote tally in 2016, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office.

In 2016, some 12,864 local voters cast ballots on Election Day. Only 5,805 people voted early. Total voter turnout: approximately 67%.

Time will tell if the significant increase in early voting represents an overall participation surge in this year's election, or simply a shift from Election Day voting to early voting.

Lincoln Parish ballot item summary

4:30 p.m. — Parish voters today take part in electing a president, members of Congress, the regional state public service commissioner, and an associate state supreme court justice.

The two parishwide races are for Ruston City Judge and city marshal. District 3 (Simsboro and the surrounding communities) will elect a police juror, and Ward 4 a constable justice of the peace. City of Grambling voters will also decide on a new quarter-cent sales tax.

Locals are also joining their peers statewide in deciding the fate of seven proposed state constitutional amendments — including one that would clarify that the Louisiana constitution does not protect the right to an abortion — as well as a sports wagering proposition.