New election ordered in Louisiana sheriffs race won by one vote

Democrat Henry Whitehorn’s win over Republican John Nickelson in the Caddo parish invalid due to illicitly cast ballots, says judge

A Democratic politician who recently won a Louisiana sheriff’s election over a Republican candidate by a single vote has been ordered to run the race again after a judge determined that a handful of illicitly cast ballots muddied up the results.

The Democratic candidate, Henry Whitehorn, defeated his Republican opponent John Nickelson in an election to be the next sheriff of north-western Louisiana’s Caddo parish on 18 November 2023 by a count of 21,621 votes to 21,620. A 27 November recount gave each candidate an additional three votes, but Whitehorn preserved his minimal advantage in the contest to succeed a retiring Republican incumbent.