Louisiana Senate Leader Wants Voting Machine Search Scrapped

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A key Louisiana Senate leader is calling on Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin to jettison his search for new voting machines and redo the effort after seeking more guidance from lawmakers, election experts and the public.

Sen. Sharon Hewitt said the state’s Republican elections chief rushed to start shopping for replacement voting equipment without legislative oversight hearings and without taking time to try to reinforce public trust. Hewitt leads the Senate’s Republican delegation and chairs the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee that oversees election issues.

Hewitt sent a letter to Ardoin on Thursday urging him to cancel the vendor search and slow the process. Ardoin defended his work and resisted Hewitt's suggestion.

(Story written by Melinda Deslatte/AP)