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BATON ROUGE, La. - Gov. Kathleen Blanco agreed Friday to postpone New Orleans' Feb. 4 elections for mayor and City Council for as long as eight months because of the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
Blanco's decision came hours after Louisiana's top elections official recommended the delay, saying polling places have not been rebuilt and hundreds of thousands of voters remain scattered across the country.
Secretary of State Al Ater said he needs to ensure poll workers are in place and polling places and absentee voting systems ready for an election he called "the most important in that city's life." Ater said the election should be held no later than Sept. 30.
The highest profile race is for mayor. Incumbent Ray Nagin has not announced whether he will seek re-election.
Nagin released a statement Friday saying he had hoped for February elections because "voting during our regular cycle would further bring a sense of normalcy and empowerment to our citizens."
Officials expect a huge increase in the number of absentee voters because so many of the city's 273,000 registered voters have moved elsewhere.
Ater said holding the elections on Sept. 30 would save the state $3-million, because voting is already scheduled statewide that day on two constitutional amendments.