NEW ORLEANS — Election officials in Orleans Parish began distributing voting machines Friday ahead of Louisiana’s , which is expected to draw large voter turnout across southeast Louisiana.

According to the parish Board of Elections, the machines were sealed Thursday and delivered Friday to polling locations, where they will be secured overnight in preparation for voting on Saturday. Orleans Parish deputies are escorting the machines during transport to ensure security.

“We just add more people, depending on the type of elections,” said Darren Lombard, chief elections officer. “For this type of election, we make sure we max out the number of sheriff deputy escorts that [are] taking machines to the locations and pick them up.”

Voters in Orleans Parish will decide several major local race

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