There are 170 registered Christians in Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of April 2, 2013:

Democratic 1398638
Republican 808143
No Party 646409
INDEPENDENT 46543
Libertarian 7557
Green Party 1779
Reform Party 1409
OTHER 1186
AMERICANS ELECT 736
CONSERVATIVE 584
INDENPENDENT 396
LIBERAL 258
CHRISTIAN 170
TEA PARTY 163
AMERICAN 110
CONSTITUTION 110
PRUD ACT RSLTS 96
MODERATE 83
OPEN 83
SOCIALIST 70
LILBERTARIAN 59
INDEPENTANT 57
INEDEPENDENT 53
UNDECIDED 53
DANSEREAU 43
CONSTITUTIONAL 34
MAJOR 33
NON PARTISAN 28
RADICAL 27
REPUBLIC 26
BANANA 24
UNAFFILIATED 23
COMMUNIST 21
CONFEDERATE 21
TEA 20
INDEPEMDENT 19
UNDECLARED 19
JEDI 18
NEUTRAL 18
PROGRESSIVE 18
LIB 17
WHIG 17
ANARCHIST 16
FACIST 16

INDEPENDENCE 15
LIBERTAIN 15
CENTRIST 13
3RD PARTY 11
EARTH FIRST 11
REFORMIST 11
NON-PARTISAN 10
LIBRAL 9
PRIMARY 9
SEGREGATION 9
FEDERALIST 8
INDIVIDUAL 8
PRESIDENTIAL 8
U S TAXPAYERS 8
BULL MOOSE 7
MODERN WHIG 7
PATRIOT 7
WARD 7
CATHOLIC REG 6
ChrstnSocialist 6
CONSERVATIST 6
DEM SOCIALIST 6
INDEPENDENT LA 6
NAT SOC 6
AEROSMITH 5
CONSTITUTIONALI 5
POPULIST 5
SOUTHERN 5
TAX PAYERS 5
THIRD PARTY 5
WHITE 5
COMMON SENSE 4
DEM.REP 4
DEPENDS 4
FREE 4
NAP 4
Republitarian 4
SOCIALIST USA 4
STATES RIGHTS 4
BAPTIST 3
BI PARTISAN 3
DEMOC SOCIAL 3
DEPENDENT 3
LIBERALIST 3
NATURAL LAW 3
NON PARTISIAN 3

PRIVATE 3
REALIST 3
AM INDEPENDENT 2
AMERICAN FIRST 2
AMERICAN INDEP 2
AMERICAN PARTY 2
ANARCH 2
ANARCHY 2
BEST 2
BI-PARTISAN 2
BIPARTISAN 2
CHRISTIAN PROGR 2
CIVIL LIBERTAR 2
COMMITTEE 2
COMMUNITARIAN 2
CONFIDENTIAL 2
CONS 2
CONSTRUCTIONALI 2
ENVIORMENTAL 2
FREEDOM 2
HAZAL 2
INDEPENDANCE 2
JEFFERSONIAN 2
JESUS 2
KINGDOM 2
LA TAXPAYERS 2
LABOR 2
MIXED 2
NATIONAL 2
NATIONAL SOCIA 2
NATIONALIST 2
NATURAL 2
NEW PARTY 2
NON-DENOMIN 2
NUNYA 2
PAR 2
PEACE 2
PEACE&FREEDOM 2
PEOPLES CHOICE 2
PERSONAL 2
PIRATE 2
POLITICAL 2
POSSIBILITARIAN 2
PRO LIFE 2
RASTAFARIAN 2
RIGHTWING WHIG 2

TAXPAYERS 2
THEOCRATIC 2
USA 2
WORKERS 2
AID 1
AMER MOHICAN 1
AMERICA 1
ANTI-PARTY 1
BILLY 1
BLACK 1
BLACK PANTHER 1
CAJUN 1
CENRIST 1
CHOICE 1
CHRIST CO 1
CHRONIC HIWAII 1
CITIZEN 1
CONSERVANCE 1
CONSERVATED 1
CU TAI WOU 1
DISCORDIAN 1
DIXIECRAT 1
DRUID 1
FAIR 1
FREE RADICAL 1
FREEDOM MOVEMT 1
FREEDOMIST 1
FREEMANS 1
GALACTIC EMPIRE 1
GDI 1
GOD 1
GOVERNMENT 1
GRASS ROOTS 1
GREEN PEACE 1
GYPSY 1
HONEST 1
HUMAN 1
HUMANITARIAN 1
IMPERIALIST 1
INDIVIDUALIST 1
INTERNETARIAN 1
JasonJohnLeMair 1
KINGDOM OF GOD 1
LEAGUE OF SOUT 1
LIB.REPUBLICAN 1
LIBERAL DEM 1

LIBERAL REP 1
LOYALIST 1
MEADOW 1
MILLENNIUM 1
MINIMALIST 1
Moderate Republ 1
MONARCHIST 1
MOOR 1
MOTHER 1
MUSLIM 1
NDEPENDENT 1
NONPARTISAN 1
P 1
PACIFIC ISLAN 1
PARTY OF ONE 1
PEACE & FREEDO 1
PROG DEM 1
PROHIBITION 1
PropRepresenPty 1
PRS 1
RAINBOW 1
REP-AMERICAN 1
RIGHT 1
RIGHT TO LIFE 1
Sensationalist 1
SOC-DEM 1
SOCIAL 1
SOUTHERN PARTY 1
SOUTHERN REF 1
SPLIT 1
SUB GENIUS 1
SURVIVALIST 1
THEOCRAT 1
UNION 1
UNITED NEUTRAL 1
UNITED REPUBLI 1
UNITED WE ST 1
UNITY 1
VETERANS 1
WORKING CLASS 1
Y 1

There is 1 registered Minimalist in Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of March 4, 2013:

Democratic		1399907
Republican		807818
No Party		645385
INDEPENDENT		46523
Libertarian		7454
Green Party		1767
Reform Party		1411
OTHER		1186
AMERICANS ELECT		737
CONSERVATIVE		570
INDENPENDENT		396
LIBERAL		257
CHRISTIAN		172
TEA PARTY		164
CONSTITUTION		112
AMERICAN		109
PRUD ACT RSLTS		96
MODERATE		83
OPEN		82
SOCIALIST		70
LILBERTARIAN		59
INDEPENTANT		56
INEDEPENDENT		53
UNDECIDED		53
DANSEREAU		42
CONSTITUTIONAL		34
MAJOR		33
NON PARTISAN		28
RADICAL		27
REPUBLIC		26
BANANA		24
UNAFFILIATED		23
COMMUNIST		21
CONFEDERATE		21
TEA		20
INDEPEMDENT		19
UNDECLARED		19
JEDI		18
NEUTRAL		18
PROGRESSIVE		18
FACIST		17
LIB		17
WHIG		17
ANARCHIST		16
INDEPENDENCE		15
LIBERTAIN		15
CENTRIST		12
3RD PARTY		11
EARTH FIRST		11
REFORMIST		11
NON-PARTISAN		10
PRIMARY		9
SEGREGATION		9
FEDERALIST		8
INDIVIDUAL		8
LIBRAL		8
PRESIDENTIAL		8
U S TAXPAYERS		8
BULL MOOSE		7
MODERN WHIG		7
PATRIOT		7
WARD		7
ChrstnSocialist		6
CONSERVATIST		6
DEM SOCIALIST		6
INDEPENDENT LA		6
NAT SOC		6
AEROSMITH		5
CATHOLIC REG		5
POPULIST		5
SOUTHERN		5
TAX PAYERS		5
WHITE		5
COMMON SENSE		4
CONSTITUTIONALI		4
DEM.REP		4
DEPENDS		4
FREE		4
NAP		4
SOCIALIST USA		4
STATES RIGHTS		4
THIRD PARTY		4
BAPTIST		3
BI PARTISAN		3
DEMOC SOCIAL		3
DEPENDENT		3
LIBERALIST		3
NATURAL LAW		3
NON PARTISIAN		3
PRIVATE		3
REALIST		3
Republitarian		3
AM INDEPENDENT		2
AMERICAN FIRST		2
AMERICAN INDEP		2
AMERICAN PARTY		2
ANARCH		2
ANARCHY		2
BEST		2
BI-PARTISAN		2
BIPARTISAN		2
CHRISTIAN PROGR		2
CIVIL LIBERTAR		2
COMMITTEE		2
COMMUNITARIAN		2
CONFIDENTIAL		2
CONS		2
CONSTRUCTIONALI		2
ENVIORMENTAL		2
HAZAL		2
INDEPENDANCE		2
JEFFERSONIAN		2
JESUS		2
KINGDOM		2
LA TAXPAYERS		2
LABOR		2
MIXED		2
NATIONAL		2
NATIONAL SOCIA		2
NATIONALIST		2
NATURAL		2
NEW PARTY		2
NON-DENOMIN		2
NUNYA		2
PAR		2
PEACE		2
PEACE&FREEDOM		2
PEOPLES CHOICE		2
PERSONAL		2
PIRATE		2
POLITICAL		2
POSSIBILITARIAN		2
PRO LIFE		2
RASTAFARIAN		2
RIGHTWING WHIG		2
TAXPAYERS		2
THEOCRATIC		2
USA		2
WORKERS		2
AID		1
AMER MOHICAN		1
AMERICA		1
ANTI-PARTY		1
BILLY		1
BLACK		1
BLACK PANTHER		1
CAJUN		1
CENRIST		1
CHOICE		1
CHRIST CO		1
CHRONIC HIWAII		1
CITIZEN		1
CONSERVANCE		1
CU TAI WOU		1
DISCORDIAN		1
DIXIECRAT		1
DRUID		1
FAIR		1
FREE RADICAL		1
FREEDOM		1
FREEDOM MOVEMT		1
FREEDOMIST		1
FREEMANS		1
GALACTIC EMPIRE		1
GDI		1
GOD		1
GOVERNMENT		1
GRASS ROOTS		1
GREEN PEACE		1
GYPSY		1
HONEST		1
HUMAN		1
HUMANITARIAN		1
IMPERIALIST		1
INDIVIDUALIST		1
INTERNETARIAN		1
JasonJohnLeMair		1
KINGDOM OF GOD		1
LEAGUE OF SOUT		1
LIB.REPUBLICAN		1
LIBERAL DEM		1
LIBERAL REP		1
LOYALIST		1
MEADOW		1
MILLENNIUM		1
MINIMALIST		1
Moderate Republ		1
MONARCHIST		1
MOOR		1
MOTHER		1
MUSLIM		1
NDEPENDENT		1
NONPARTISAN		1
P		1
PACIFIC ISLAN		1
PARTY OF ONE		1
PEACE & FREEDO		1
PROG DEM		1
PROHIBITION		1
PRS		1
RAINBOW		1
REP-AMERICAN		1
RIGHT		1
RIGHT TO LIFE		1
Sensationalist		1
SOC-DEM		1
SOCIAL		1
SOUTHERN PARTY		1
SOUTHERN REF		1
SPLIT		1
SUB GENIUS		1
SURVIVALIST		1
THEOCRAT		1
UNION		1
UNITED NEUTRAL		1
UNITED REPUBLI		1
UNITED WE ST		1
UNITY		1
VETERANS		1
WORKING CLASS		1
Y		1

There is 1 registered Discordian in Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of February 1, 2013:

Democratic 1401897
Republican 807970
No Party 644179
INDEPENDENT 46490
Libertarian 7342
Green Party 1749
Reform Party 1408
OTHER 1185
AMERICANS ELECT 742
CONSERVATIVE 568
INDENPENDENT 400
LIBERAL 259
CHRISTIAN 172
TEA PARTY 164
CONSTITUTION 116
AMERICAN 109
PRUD ACT RSLTS 96
MODERATE 83
OPEN 81
SOCIALIST 70
LILBERTARIAN 56
INDEPENTANT 55
INEDEPENDENT 53
UNDECIDED 53
DANSEREAU 43
CONSTITUTIONAL 35
MAJOR 33
NON PARTISAN 28
RADICAL 27
REPUBLIC 26
BANANA 24
UNAFFILIATED 23
COMMUNIST 21
CONFEDERATE 21
TEA 20
INDEPEMDENT 19
UNDECLARED 19
JEDI 18
NEUTRAL 18
PROGRESSIVE 18
FACIST 17
LIB 17
WHIG 17
ANARCHIST 16

INDEPENDENCE 15
LIBERTAIN 15
CENTRIST 12
3RD PARTY 11
EARTH FIRST 11
REFORMIST 11
NON-PARTISAN 10
PRIMARY 9
SEGREGATION 9
FEDERALIST 8
INDIVIDUAL 8
LIBRAL 8
PRESIDENTIAL 8
U S TAXPAYERS 8
BULL MOOSE 7
MODERN WHIG 7
WARD 7
ChrstnSocialist 6
CONSERVATIST 6
DEM SOCIALIST 6
INDEPENDENT LA 6
NAT SOC 6
CATHOLIC REG 5
PATRIOT 5
POPULIST 5
SOUTHERN 5
TAX PAYERS 5
WHITE 5
AEROSMITH 4
CONSTITUTIONALI 4
DEM.REP 4
DEMOC SOCIAL 4
DEPENDS 4
FREE 4
NAP 4
SOCIALIST USA 4
STATES RIGHTS 4
THIRD PARTY 4
BAPTIST 3
BI PARTISAN 3
COMMON SENSE 3
DEPENDENT 3
LIBERALIST 3
NATURAL LAW 3
NON PARTISIAN 3
PRIVATE 3

REALIST 3
Republitarian 3
AM INDEPENDENT 2
AMERICAN FIRST 2
AMERICAN INDEP 2
ANARCH 2
ANARCHY 2
BEST 2
BI-PARTISAN 2
BIPARTISAN 2
CHRISTIAN PROGR 2
CIVIL LIBERTAR 2
COMMITTEE 2
COMMUNITARIAN 2
CONFIDENTIAL 2
CONS 2
CONSTRUCTIONALI 2
ENVIORMENTAL 2
HAZAL 2
INDEPENDANCE 2
JEFFERSONIAN 2
JESUS 2
KINGDOM 2
LA TAXPAYERS 2
LABOR 2
NATIONAL 2
NATIONAL SOCIA 2
NATIONALIST 2
NATURAL 2
NEW PARTY 2
NON-DENOMIN 2
NUNYA 2
PAR 2
PEACE 2
PEACE&FREEDOM 2
PEOPLES CHOICE 2
PERSONAL 2
PIRATE 2
POLITICAL 2
POSSIBILITARIAN 2
PRO LIFE 2
RASTAFARIAN 2
RIGHTWING WHIG 2
TAXPAYERS 2
THEOCRATIC 2
USA 2

WORKERS 2
AID 1
AMER MOHICAN 1
AMERICA 1
AMERICAN PARTY 1
ANTI-PARTY 1
BILLY 1
BLACK 1
BLACK PANTHER 1
CAJUN 1
CHOICE 1
CHRIST CO 1
CHRONIC HIWAII 1
CITIZEN 1
CONSERVANCE 1
CU TAI WOU 1
DISCORDIAN 1
DIXIECRAT 1
DRUID 1
FAIR 1
FREE RADICAL 1
FREEDOM 1
FREEDOM MOVEMT 1
FREEDOMIST 1
FREEMANS 1
GDI 1
GOD 1
GOVERNMENT 1
GRASS ROOTS 1
GREEN PEACE 1
GYPSY 1
HONEST 1
HUMAN 1
HUMANITARIAN 1
IMPERIALIST 1
INDIVIDUALIST 1
INTERNETARIAN 1
JasonJohnLeMair 1
KINGDOM OF GOD 1
LEAGUE OF SOUT 1
LIB.REPUBLICAN 1
LIBERAL DEM 1
LIBERAL REP 1
LOYALIST 1
MEADOW 1
MILLENNIUM 1

MINIMALIST 1
MIXED 1
Moderate Republ 1
MONARCHIST 1
MOOR 1
MOTHER 1
MUSLIM 1
NDEPENDENT 1
NONPARTISAN 1
P 1
PACIFIC ISLAN 1
PARTY OF ONE 1
PEACE & FREEDO 1
PROG DEM 1
PROHIBITION 1
PRS 1
RAINBOW 1
REP-AMERICAN 1
RIGHT 1
RIGHT TO LIFE 1
Sensationalist 1
SOC-DEM 1
SOCIAL 1
SOUTHERN PARTY 1
SOUTHERN REF 1
SPLIT 1
SUB GENIUS 1
SURVIVALIST 1
THEOCRAT 1
UNION 1
UNITED NEUTRAL 1
UNITED REPUBLI 1
UNITED WE ST 1
UNITY 1
VETERANS 1
WORKING CLASS 1
Y 1

Despite Purge of Inactive Voters, Libertarians & Conservatives Gain Registrants

Last month the Louisiana Secretary of State's office removed 52,308 inactive voters from the state's voter registration rolls.

By comparing the voter registration totals from December 4, 2012, and those from January 2, 2013, we can get an idea of how the December purge affected each political party. Of course, the differences between the two monthly reports also reflect more routine changes (such as new registrations and changes of party affiliation) that happened between those two dates.

Here's how the state's five recognized parties fared:

Democratic Party registrants decreased by 24670, from 1429755 to 1405085.
Republican Party registrants decreased by 9481, from 818779 to 809298.
Libertarian Party registrants increased by 156, from 7088 to 7244.
Green Party registrants decreased by 16, from 1745 to 1729.
Reform Party registrants decreased by 24, from 1430 to 1406.

More than 200 political parties are represented on the Louisiana voter registration rolls, but so far as I know only four of those parties have actively sought recognized party status in Louisiana in recent years. Here's how those parties did between Dec. 4 and Jan. 2:

Americans Elect registrants decreased by 12, from 759 to 747.
Conservative Party registrants increased by 14, from 541 to 555.
Christian Party registrants decreased by 1, from 173 to 172.
Constitution Party registrants decreased by 3, from 119 to 116.

Here's how the following notable registrant groups changed:

"No Party" registrants (a category called "None" in every report I had gotten prior to this month) decreased by 15117, from 658999 to 643882.
"Independent" registrants decreased by 469, from 46941 to 46472.
"Other" registrants decreased by 21, from 1204 to 1183.

How To Take Public Office In Louisiana Without Swearing To God

Last fall I was elected unopposed to the Board of Aldermen in the village in which I live. Before I could take office, however, I had to fulfill the following requirement set forth in the Louisiana Constitution:

Art. X, §30.  Oath of Office

Section 30.  Every official shall take the following oath or affirmation:  "I, .  .  ., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and laws of this state and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as .  .  ., according to the best of my ability and understanding, so help me God."

As an atheist I wasn’t going to swear an oath that ended with “so help me God.” It would have been dishonest.

Since the Oath of Office section of the Louisiana Constitution provides an affirmation option, I was pretty certain I would not be compelled to say “so help me God.” Even though the language of the section does not make it clear that the phrase “so help me God” is not required of those who choose to affirm, it would make no sense to interpret it any other way. The whole point of the affirmation option is to accommodate those people who have a conscientious objection to swearing religious oaths. Any statement that ends with “so help me God” is clearly a religious oath, regardless of which verb was used.

Although I was confident that I would have no trouble getting through the spoken affirmation without violating my conscience, I wasn’t so sure about the Oath of Office form that public officials in Louisiana are required to sign. That form reproduces the words of the Oath of Office, with the phrase “so help me God” printed immediately before the blank for the public official’s signature. I could easily omit the religious language from the spoken affirmation, but I couldn’t so easily omit the religious language from a pre-printed form that I was supposed to sign.

As it turned out I was reading Herb Silverman’s Candidate Without a Prayer last November. It’s a very interesting memoir and is relevant to this post because Silverman was faced with a similar form when he was trying to become a notary in South Carolina. Silverman solved the problem by striking through the phrase “so help me God” before he signed his notary application. South Carolina rejected Silverman’s application, the case went to court, and eventually Silverman won. (There’s lots more background to the Silverman story, but I’ll leave that for you to read about on your own.)

I decided to follow Silverman’s example. I would have preferred to not have to strike through the words “so help me God” since I figured some people would see that as a hostile act and it wasn't my intention to be hostile to anyone. However, I couldn’t think of any better solution. Of course, the ideal solution would be for the state to provide an Oath of Office form that does not contain a religious declaration, at least to those people who request a secular affirmation, but I expect that change would have to be made by either the state legislature or the courts.

In mid-November I emailed the Commissions Division of the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office and asked whether they had any established policies or any guidance regarding the affirmation option. I gave a summary of my situation and explained how I planned to handle the spoken affirmation and the Oath of Office form. I didn’t get a response, so I emailed them again around the end of November. Still, no response.

Then, I emailed the First Assistant Secretary of State. His response was quick, cordial, and professional. He apologized for the lack of communication from the Commissions Division and he asked for my phone number so that he could have the Secretary of State’s legal counsel call me.

A few minutes later the SOS’s legal counsel called. She was also cordial and professional. We briefly discussed the relevant Louisiana law and how the affirmation option should be exercised. Apparently, they did not have any established policy on the details of affirming. (I’m not surprised by that since I expect that very few public officials in Louisiana choose to affirm.) I told her that during the spoken affirmation I intended to say “affirm” instead of “swear” and to leave off “so help me God.” She indicated that that was acceptable. I told her that I planned to strike through the words “so help me God” on the Oath of Office form before signing. I mentioned the Silverman case. She assured me that striking through those words would not cause them to reject my form. She said she would send a note to the Commissions Division so that they would know they should accept my form.

When I went to the courthouse in late December to make my spoken affirmation, I told the clerk that I was choosing to affirm. Still, during his prompting he said “swear” and “so help me God.” I said “affirm” instead of “swear” and left off “so help me God.” I also reminded him at the end that I was affirming. I don’t think he was trying to be difficult. I think he just didn’t know how the affirmation is supposed to work. I struck through the phrase “so help me God” before signing my forms (two copies have to be signed and filed) and there wasn’t any problem.

I was very pleased with how smoothly everything went. There was a bit of confusion, but at no point did I sense any hostility from anyone. If more Louisianans choose a secular affirmation, maybe even the confusion can be reduced.