RELEASE: Louisiana Democratic Party Endorses Gwen Collins-Greenup for Louisiana Secretary of State

Louisiana Democratic Party Endorses Gwen Collins-Greenup for Louisiana Secretary of State

Baton Rouge, LA – On Saturday, the Democratic State Central Committee unanimously endorsed Gwen Collins-Greenup for Secretary of State. The election will be held on October 12.

“Gwen Collins-Greenup is the people’s candidate for Secretary of State,” Senator Karen Carter Peterson, Chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party said. “When she says she has a plan to restore trust to the Secretary of State’s office, that plan involves everyone in Louisiana, not just her party’s biggest supporters. Whether it’s increasing voter education and awareness, actually protecting our elections, or assisting small businesses to get off the ground and advance our state’s business climate, she’s ready to hit the ground running come January. We’re proud to endorse Gwen for the 2019 election and are confident that she is the best candidate to serve our state as Secretary of State.”

“The best argument against Kyle Ardoin serving as Secretary of State is watching him try to serve as Secretary of State,” Stephen Handwerk, Executive Director of the Louisiana Democratic Party said. “He has consistently mismanaged the Secretary of State’s office since he first started serving in the role. He failed to fix Louisiana’s cybersecurity issues despite promising to do so in 2018, he actively attempted to disenfranchise the voters of Lafayette, and we’re no closer to having updated election machines for the biggest election in our state than when he first took office. With the mountains of ineptitude that have come out of the Secretary of State’s office, it’s clear we need someone new to lead the department and come January, I know we’ll have that person in Gwen Collins-Greenup.”

“I’m excited to receive the unanimous endorsement by the Democratic State Central Committee today,” Gwen Collins-Greenup, the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State said. “Since taking office, Kyle Ardoin has failed to fix our outdated voter machines, address Louisiana’s cybersecurity flaws, and is more dedicated to making excuses than making progress. I’m running for Secretary of State because Louisiana needs someone who will restore trust to the office and work to protect our voters and the elections they vote in. 

“By increasing voter education, we can expand the amount of people participating in our elections so 450,000 people are no longer making decisions for 4.6 million. By actually addressing the issues with our cybersecurity and election machines rather than making excuses for them, we can ensure our elections are secure and that your right to vote counts. By providing our budding small businesses more resources and less barriers to entry in order to get started, we can continue to grow our business climate and better provide for the great state of Louisiana. I’m asking for your vote because Louisiana deserves someone who will fight for every Louisianian, and we know Kyle Ardoin can’t say the same thing.”

Background

Gwen Collins-Greenup has developed a plan to help expand voter education, fix our election system, and facilitate our small businesses who are looking to start up.

A report from the Brennan Center, Alliance for Securing Democracy, R Street Institute and Pitt Cyber found that Louisiana still hasn’t addressed critical cybersecurity concerns surrounding our elections. These issues still haven’t been addressed since the 2018 election even though Ardoin boasted during it that he was the only candidate who has the “unique cyber security experience to deal with the election issues that face our state today.” 

Ardoin also failed to secure new voting machines for the 2019 election, keeping our state vulnerable to outside interference. Ardoin botched a contract to replace Louisiana’s 10,000 voting machines back in 2018 and has still not rectified it in time for the biggest election in our state where every statewide official and the entire legislature will be up for election.