Louisiana voters believe the state is heading in the wrong direction, with education and unemployment its biggest hurdles, according to a recent University of New Orleans poll.

A strong turnout in Tuesday’s election showed that voters want to make their voices heard. Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court Lynn Jones said that nearly half of the 126,000 registered voters parishwide cast ballots in the race for U.S. Senate.

That’s an improvement over the usual turnout percentages, which he said ranges between 35 percent and 45 percent.

The poll, conducted last month over a two-week period, interviewed 600 registered voters in the state. It showed that 19 percent felt education was the biggest issue. Only 2 percent of those surveyed pegged Common Core as the biggest problem.

The poll showed 11 percent stating unemployment as the state’s biggest problem, with more Democrats than Republicans having a positive outlook on Louisiana’s economy.

More than half of those surveyed said the state is moving in the wrong direction; just over 30 percent disagreed.

The poll also put Gov. Bobby Jindal’s approval rating at 40 percent and President Barack Obama’s at 38 percent.

Seven percent of respondents said the governor is the main problem.

More than 60 percent of those surveyed said the state “should accept the Medicaid dollars from the federal government,” the report reads. This is an interesting find, considering Jindal was strongly opposed to any Medicaid expansion.

The Affordable Care Act was opposed by more than 50 percent of those surveyed. But certain aspects of it were favored, like covering those with pre-existing conditions and providing financial help for those who can’t pay for insurance.

The report says that “all groups of respondents” were more supportive of the Affordable Care Act “after being exposed to specific provisions” of it.

The poll indicated an “extremely tight” race for the U.S. Senate seat between Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge,” Ed Chervenak, director of the UNO Survey Research Center, said in a statement to The Times-Picayune.

That rang true, including his prediction that Landrieu would lead over Cassidy in the primary before “a runoff election between Landrieu and Cassidy in December.”

In our country and our state, we are able to make change through the voting process.

Voters need to show up on Dec. 6 to make their voice heard again.(MGNonline)