BATON ROUGE — The maps for the 19th Judicial District election changed ahead of the October special election to include a bigger demographic; residents say the change did not come with enough time for voters.

Pastor Dale Flowers of New Sunlight Baptist Church said that the maps should have been implemented in next year's election, and he feels rushed to vote.

“I didn’t even know I was voting a month ago, so I had no interest in this," Flowers said. "Now we got to rush to decide which of these candidates we’re going to choose.”

After the changes were made, East Baton Rouge Registrar of Voters Steve Raborn said information was sent out and voters can update their registration.

“We did implement the redistricting of the district court back in July. New voter information cards were mailed to every voter whose district changed,” Raborn said.

Flowers said he believes this will affect voter turnout.

"Folks are not being given time or the adequate information, and the voters got to work harder to get the information for themselves,” Flowers said.

State NAACP President Michael McClanahan said he disagrees with the altered map and its immediate push. He believes although the map appears to be equal representation, it does not match the true demographic.
"The black judges make up the majority opposed to the white judges, and for years, white judges did. I don't know why the author of the bill decided 'I must change that'," McClanahan said.

McClanahan said the NAACP is working overtime to inform everyone to update their voter registration.

You can still register online using the Secretary of State's website, and also look to see if you're able to vote in the special election.