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For the first time this year, L’OBSERVATEUR will be asking residents within the River Parishes for their votes in our Best of the River Parishes for their favorite businesses, restaurants, services, people and places.

With so many great businesses and people in the River Parishes we expect record turn-out in this nomination and upcoming voting process as people make their voices heard to recognize those who help make our area a great place to live, work and play.

To cast your ballot for Best of the River Parishes in 2021 we will be offering a state-of-the-art online voting platform that is “best of breed” in online voting systems for Best Of contests. This allows for secure voting and automatic tabulation of votes. The Internet-based voting system is mobile-friendly and easy to use.

In our effort to identify the best of the best in the River Parishes we will use a two-phase ballot, much like a primary and a general election. The nomination phase of Best of the River Parishes is a write-in ballot to nominate your favorite businesses by subcategory. The nomination phase begins May 3, and is open through May 31. The top three businesses per sub-category will then move forward to the voting phase.

The voting phase will start on July 1 and go through July 31. Choosing between the top three nominated businesses per sub-category will make the voting phase easier and faster. Winners will be contacted after the voting ends.

The winners of Best of the River Parishes will be announced to the public in the fall through a special section and will also be lobservateur.com.

You can nominate your favorite businesses by visiting www.lobservateur.com/contests.