You can’t miss them. The signs are everywhere. It’s political season in St. John the Baptist Parish.

The primary election is Oct. 24, and the last day to register to vote is Sept. 23. However, before any of those days come into play, we first must know who is running for office.

No less than six people have run announcements in L’OBSERVATEUR indicating their desire to run for St. John the Baptist Parish president. That does not include one councilman who announced in the spring before withdrawing to seek another position.

Well, all the posturing is set to end next week as qualifying officially gets underway Tuesday through Thursday.

L’OBSERVATEUR will keep a running list of those who qualify, updating our website as the names come in and publishing a complete list in the newspaper Sept. 12.

It’s already shaping up to be an interesting election as 38 candidates have expressed their intentions to run for the 21 races specific to St. John Parish.

Outside of parish president, St. John voters will weigh in on assessor, sheriff, clerk of court, coroner, all council seats, two state Senate seats, three state Representative seats and two BESE seats.

That doesn’t include elections for Governor, Lt. Governor, Louisiana Secretary of State, Louisiana Attorney General, Louisiana Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry and Commissioner of Insurance.

A host of elections — including contested races for parish president — in St. James and St. Charles Parishes are going to make things very interesting next week and into the fall for the entire River Region.

Early voting for Oct. 24’s election takes place Oct. 10-17 at the Registrar of Voters Office inside the Percy Hebert Building in LaPlace and at the Edgard Courthouse.

Seniors, individuals with mobility impairments, students and residents who will be out-of-town for the election can vote by mail.

Those who want to obtain mail-in ballots should contact the Registrar of Voters Office at 985-652-9797 to file a request. For more news on voting, visit sos.la.gov.

Keep checking future editions of L’OBSERVATEUR as your election guide. A “Meet the Candidates” section will publish Sept. 23.

Let the races begin.