Voter's Guide, 2021 Fall Elections, New Orleans
Position Clerk -- Criminal District Court
NameAustin J Badon

Campaign Information

Campaign Web Sitehttp://www.austinbadon.com
Facebook
Twitteraustin Badon@badonaustin
YouTube

Bio Information

Party AffiliationDemocrat
ProfessionClerk of Court
Present Employer / positionFirst City Court
Length of residence in Jurisdiction53 years
List of educational institutions and degreesUniversity of New Orleans-Bachelors degree earned (Political Sciences)
Troy State University-Masters of Human Resources Management
Prior elected and appointed positionsLouisiana House of Representatives 2004-2016
Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee
Civic involvement and affiliationsEach One Save one mentoring organization
Boy Scouts of America Southeast Louisiana council
St. Augustine High School alumni association

Questions specific to the position

1. How would you better facilitate working with other sections of the criminal justice system? I will pledge to you that I will establish a working relationship with every section of Criminal Court in order to better understand the different needs and requirements of each court so that I and my my staff can best facilitate implementing new policies and procedures to provide excellent customer service and to provide the Sections with all of their needs in order to render sound Judgements. I strongly believe that we must have a newer and capable computer system so that each entity of the Criminal Justice system is on the same page and each can see what the other is doing. i also believe that we should have virtual discussions to address deficient areas that need to be corrected as well as to discuss new best practices.
2. What factors will you take into account in locating the precincts? I strongly believe in increasing the numbers of voting Precincts and have made it a a major part of my platform. The Clerk's office failed to expand polling sites after Katrina. The factors that need to be considered are serviceable populations, available public transportation, sites that can handle the volume of people coming in to vote, available internet and computer capabilities and my staff will be directed to identify under-served populations.
3. Are you in favor of moving to all paper balloting? I'm not in favor of moving to all paper balloting. Overall, society is moving to paperless interactions. I do believe that there is value in paper ballots for individuals who feel more comfortable with it however there are those who prefer to use the electronic version. I would never want to hinder or make it difficult for someone to cast their ballots.
4. Are there any other measures that can be taken locally to ensure confidence in the voting process? Absolutely. I would implement best practices to make sure that voting is confidential, accessible and free from both foreign and domestic infiltration by utilizing the most modern hardware and software computer systems. I believe that there should be federal oversight to make sure that all voting is free from contamination. I will use my media contacts to educate the public on the importance of voting, I would promote early voting, I would reach out to young people when they reach voting age to encourage them to register, I would encourage those who are registered to vote but have low voting percentages to vote more. I'm embarrassed that the numbers from Orleans Parish are always the last to come in. i would make sure that Orleans Parish numbers come in within a timely manner.

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