Ervin-Knott
New Orleans attorney Nakisha Ervin-Knott will compete in a runoff against attorney Clare Jupiter for the Orleans Parish Civil District Court Division E bench, despite a recent ruling that Ervin-Knott's campaign violated the judicial code of conduct.
The Louisiana Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee ruled last week that Ervin-Knott made false allegations about nominee Kris Kiefer in her campaign. Ervin-Knott accused Kiefer of being "a drunk" in ads run on television and websites YouTube and Facebook.
The Oversight Committee ruled that Ervin-Knott had insufficient evidence to back her allegations, but has no power to reprimand her or halt the advertisements.
The ruling came just a day before Ervin-Knott received 36 percent of the vote in the three-way race for the Orleans Parish Civil judgeship, while Jupiter received 34 percent and Kiefer received 30 percent.
No date has been announced for the runoff.
In the race for the Civil District Court Division B bench, New Orleans attorney Regina Bartholomew won in a landslide, taking 63 percent of the vote over opponent Ellen Hazeur.
Just over 51,000 votes were cast in the race for the Division B seat with over 51,000 cast for the Division E seat.
The Louisiana Secretary of State's office reported that the turnout for Saturday's statewide elections were the lowest they have ever been since 1975.