Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day.
Voters across the country and right here in Acadiana are preparing to cast their votes.
Polling locations in the state open at 6 am and officially close at 8 pm.
Katie Lopez was LIVE on GMA with a look at the big races and some of the amendments that voters in Louisiana will have to consider when heading out to vote.
For a list of voting locations visit the Secretary of State's voter portal, https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/
On Tuesday night at 8:00 pm, KATC will begin live coverage as polls close and results begin coming in for local and state elections.
Join us at KATC.com/live.
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There are seven amendments on the ballot this election.
While all are equally important, Amendment 1 is the one that you have probably heard the most about.
"Do you support an amendment declaring that, to protect human life, a right to abortion and the funding of abortion shall not be found in the Louisiana constitution?"
What this means, if it passes, the state constitution would explicitly NOT grant women the right to an abortion. This sets the stage for the state to ban abortions should the United States Supreme Court overturn Roe versus Wade.
This will not mean anything if Roe versus Wade is never overturned.
For a deeper look at this amendment and others on the ballot you can head to katc.com/elections.
SPORTS BETTING:
Sports Betting has been a topic of conversation for years.
It started back in 1995 when Lafayette Parish voters said they did not want video poker machines in the parish.
Parishes Decisions in 1995:
YES:
ST. MARY (RIVERBOAT & VIDEO POKER)
ST. MARTIN (RIVERBOAT & VIDEO POKER)
ST. LANDRY (RIVERBOAT & VIDEO POKER)
ACADIA (RIVERBOAT & VIDEO POKER)
JEFF DAVIS (RIVERBOAT & VIDEO POKER)
NO:
LAFAYETTE (VIDEO POKER ONLY)
EVANGELINE (VIDEO POKER ONLY)
VERMILION (RIVERBOAT & VIDEO POKER)
IBERIA (RIVERBOAT & VIDEO POKER)
A "yes" vote would be in favor of allowing sports betting, subject to legislative regulation and taxation, within each parish in which this question is approved.
A "no" vote would be against allowing sports betting within each parish in which this question is approved, thereby continuing to prohibit sports betting within that parish.
EARLY VOTING NUMBERS:
Across the country, despite a pandemic, we have seen early voting numbers at it's highest in years.
Here in louisiana nearly 1-million people cast their ballots early--a far cry from 2016.
977, 408 people have cast their ballots early.
44 percent of those early voters are Democrat.
37 percent are Republican.
58 percent are women and 42 percent are men.
Acadiana:
2016 early voting numbers show:
20,804 white voters cast their ballots
3,436 black
and 413 other
2020 early voting numbers show:
88,991 white
33,183 black
3,979 other cast their ballots ahead of Election Day.