Milkovich, who hasn't decided if he will challenge the results of the election, said independent voters in Sabine and Caddo parishes said they were told by poll workers they couldn't vote in the Democratic primary.

Milkovich got 23 percent of the vote Saturday. He finished about 1,500 votes behind second-place finisher Willie Banks of Leesville, out of more than 76,000 votes cast.

The Republican primary was limited to registered Republicans but Democrats allowed those with no party affiliation to vote in their primary.

Petrice Brown, who said she couldn't vote at the Judson Elementary precinct, didn't complain Saturday but told Milkovich about it later.

"There are 80,000 independent voters in Louisiana and it's important to insure they're not denied their constitutional right to vote," said Milkovich, who said he's trying to find out if the problem was widespread.

Clerks of courts said they trained precinct workers about the new closed primaries, which were in place Saturday for the first time in three decades. Under the old open-primary system, all candidates -- regardless of party affiliation -- were on the ballot together.