SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Shreveport man who ran for Shreveport City Council District B has filed suit in Caddo District Court, claiming voting irregularities affected the outcome of the race.
District B Candidate James Carstensen filed a lawsuit naming Caddo Clerk of Court Mike Spence, Caddo Registrar of Voters Dale Sibley, and Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin as defendants in the suit.
The suit alleges that the updated council redistricting maps were not correctly followed in drafting the District B ballots. The filing further alleges that there were “irregularities in voting machines.”
“I don’t think that we had a fair election. I think that things are much worse than we thought, and we hope that that’s given the opportunity to be seen and heard by the judicial branch and that they make the right decisions,” Carstensen said.
On November 10, Caddo Clerk of Court Mike Spence explained what happened to cause what appeared to be a tie for second place between Mavice Thigpen and Carstensen on election night.
Spence said removable cartridges in voting machines had to be sent to the Secretary of State Ardoin to be read because they were not giving accurate readings. Spence said the system is redundant so election officials can detect and correct irregularities quickly.
After additional readings were conducted in Baton Rouge following state election law, Thigpen eeked past Carstensen in the vote count, placing her in the December runoff with Brooks.
Monday, November 14, was the last day for any candidate to request a recount. Tuesday, November 15, all votes were supposed to have been certified, making the election results official.
Carstensen’s case will be heard Monday by Caddo District Judge Mike Pitman.