BATON ROUGE — Judges this week ordered the names of two East Baton Rouge Metro Council candidates stricken from the Nov. 5 ballot, finding they didn't fully meet the qualifications.

The decisions mean half of the Metro Council's 12 districts are already decided for next year. District 6 member Cleve Dunn Jr. and District 12 member Jen Racca join the list of those unopposed. 

In the District 6 race, Corey Smith was removed from the race because the state Department of Revenue had no record of his filing tax returns for 2019, 2020 and 2021. Candidates are required to have filed tax returns in each of the five previous years before seeking office.

In District 12, Joseph "Liberty Jesus" Clement had no tax returns on record for 2019 and 2023. His residency was also challenged — candidates are required to live in their district. 

The decision leave half of the council's 12 positions unopposed this fall. Republican council members Denise Amoroso, Rowdy Gaudet, Dwight Hudson and Aaron Moakare are also the only people in their races.