The petition to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has fallen short of the signatures needed to go to a citywide ballot. Governor John Bel Edwards’ office says there were only a bit over 27-thousand confirmed and certified voter signatures; far below the 45-thousand needed. UNO political science professor Ed Chervenak says the NOLATOYA effort began months ago with a bang.
“There was a lot of sound and fury to this recall effort, but it appears they’re going to end with a whimper. They fell WELL short of the required number of signatures they needed.”
The Governor’s Office says over 39-thousand signatures on the recall petition had to be discounted, which brought the effort up short. Chervenak says he’s not surprised, because recall petition drives often fall short.
“It’s hard to convince people that that is what’s required. You can be unhappy with an elected official, but to say they need to be relieved from office…that’s completely different.”
Chervenak says a lot of things can disqualify a recall petition signature, like missing signatures, incorrect birthdate, or the person simply wasn’t a qualified New Orleans voter. He says it was up to the NOLATOYA group to assure the names were legitimate.
“So, I think there’s a number of errors and that led to the…you know…only 27-thousand signatures being verified and certified.”
Chervenak says certainly some political pressure came to bear from the Mayor Cantrell, but he doesn’t suspect any “backroom shenanigans” in the petition’s outcome.
