Louisiana's Presidential Primary open for only Democrats, Republicans

Louisiana is having a party Saturday.
It’s not a party with cake and ice cream, but rather a political party, with invitations extended only to registered Democrats and Republicans.
Political parties will be the focus for the March 5 Presidential Preference Primary. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and remain so until 8 p.m. Voters will go to their regular precincts to make their selection.
The presidential primary is closed. Only voters registered as Democrat or Republican will be able to vote for their respective party in the primary.
“There has been some confusion on that,” Vermilion Parish Registrar of Voters Mike Bertrand said. “We had people who came in for early voting who are members of one party and wanted to vote for the other. We also had people who are members of no party, or another party, who wanted to be able to vote, one way or the other.
“This primary is only for Democrats and Republicans.”
There are only two political parties involved, the Democratic and Republicans, because they have 40,000 or more registered members.
“This is a party driven primary that is held every four years,” Bertrand said. “The parties themselves are the ones who qualify who is eligible to vote. The Democratic Party of Louisiana is only allowing registered Democrats to vote. It is the same thing for the Republicans.”
Bertrand said he can understand that there is some confusion.
“I think part of that confusion is that some states allow people to vote for other parties,” he said. “That is not the case in Louisiana. There is no alternative.
“You can only vote for your registered party.”
Commissioners at each of the precincts will have lists with each voter’s party listed.
“People who are no party or some other party will be shown as not eligible to vote,” Bertrand explained.
Anyone with questions regarding their party affiliation can contact Bertrand’s office at 898-4324.
It is too late to switch political parties. That deadline passed in early February.
Democratic Party presidential candidates who will appear on Saturday’s ballot are Steve Burke, Hillary Clinton, Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, Henry Hewes, Keith Judd, Martin J. O’Malley, “Bernie” Sanders, Michael A. Steinberg, Willie L. Wilson and John Wolfe.
Republican Party presidential candidates on the ballot are “Jeb” Bush, “Ben” Carson, “Chris” Christie, Timothy “Tim” Cook, “Ted” Cruz, “Carly” Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, “Mike” Huckabee, John R. Kasich, Peter Messina, “Rand” Paul, Marco Rubio, “Rick” Santorum and Donald J. Trump.