Election administration in Louisiana
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Election administration encompasses a state's voting policies and methods of enforcing them. These include voter identification requirements, early and absentee voting provisions, voter list maintenance methods, and more. Each state's voting policies dictate who can vote and under what conditions.
Below, you will find details on the following election administration topics in Louisiana:
Poll times
- See also: State poll opening and closing times
In Louisiana, polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central time for Tuesday elections. For Saturday elections, polls open at 7:00 a.m. If the polls close while a voter is in line, he or she will still be permitted to vote.[2][3]
Voter registration
- Check your voter registration status here.
To vote in Louisiana, one must be a United States citizen who resides in the state and parish in which he or she registers. A voter must be at least 18 years old by Election Day.[4]
Registration completed via mail or in person must occur at least 30 days before Election Day. Registration completed online must occur at least 20 days before Election Day. Registrants must present a valid form of identification to register. Pre-registration is available beginning at age 16.[4]
Voters may register in person at any Registrar of Voters office or any of the following places:[4]
- Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles
- Louisiana Department of Social Services
- WIC offices
- Food stamp offices
- Medicaid offices
- Offices and agencies serving people with disabilities
- Military recruitment offices
Automatic registration
Louisiana does not practice automatic voter registration.
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Louisiana has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Same-day registration
Louisiana does not allow same-day voter registration.
Residency requirements
Louisiana law requires 20 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.
Verification of citizenship
Louisiana does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration.
Verifying your registration
The site Geaux Vote, run by the Louisiana Secretary of State office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Early and absentee voting policy
Early voting
- See also: Early voting
Louisiana permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Absentee voting
- See also: Absentee voting
The following individuals are eligible to vote absentee in Louisiana:[5]
- Senior citizens, 65 years of age or older
- Voters who expect to be temporarily absent from the state or their parish during the early voting period and on election day
- Offshore workers
- Residents of nursing homes, veterans' homes, or hospitals
- Students, instructors, or professors (as well as their spouses and dependents) who are living outside of their parish
- Ministers, priests, rabbis, or other members of the clergy who are assigned outside of their parish
- Voters who moved more than 100 miles from the seat of their former parish within 30 days of an election
- Voters who are involuntarily confined to a mental institution and have not been judicially declared incompetent
- Voters who expect to be hospitalized on Election Day
- Incarcerated voters who have not been convicted of a felony
- Participants in the secretary of state's Address Confidentiality Program
- Sequestered jurors
Returning absentee ballots
Absentee ballots can be returned by mail, fax, or hand delivery. The ballot must be received by the voter’s parish registrar of voters by 4:30 p.m. CST on the day before Election Day. According to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office, a signed statement must be completed upon delivery of a completed by anyone other than the voter certifying their relationship. According to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office. Military, overseas, and hospitalized voters' ballots must be received by 8:00 p.m. CST on Election Day.[6]
Signature requirements and cure provisions
Louisiana does not have a cure provision, or a law allowing voters to remedy certain issues with absentee/mail-in ballots after Election Day.
Louisiana has a process for election officials to follow up with voters who returned absentee ballots that are missing required signatures or other affidavit information. Attempts are made to contact the voter via mail, telephone, and email if this information is available. If contacted, voters have until 4:30 p.m. on the day before Election Day to remedy the issues.[6]
Was your absentee ballot counted?
Use the Absentee Ballot Search tool provided by the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office to check the status of your absentee ballot.
Voter identification requirements
- See also: Voter ID in Louisiana
- See also: Voter identification laws by state
Louisiana requires voters to present photo identification while voting.[7]
Voters can present the following forms of identification. This list was current as of April 11, 2023. Click here to ensure you have the most current information.
- Louisiana driver's license
- Louisiana special identification card
- LA Wallet digital driver's license
- Other generally recognized picture identification card that contains the name and signature of the voter
Voters who do not have accepted ID may vote by completing a voter identification affidavit. By law, voters who sign an affidavit may be challenged.[8]
Registered voters can bring their voter information card to the Office of Motor Vehicles to receive a free Louisiana special identification card.[7]
Background
As of August 2023, 34 states required voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. Of these states, 23 required voters to present identification containing a photograph, and 11 accepted other forms of identification. The remaining 16 states did not require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. Valid forms of identification differ by state. Commonly accepted forms include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.[9][10]
Provisional ballot rules
Voters in Louisiana are given provisional ballots, or ballots requiring additional steps or information before they can be counted, under the following circumstances.[11]
(1) If the voter wants to vote in the parish where he or she is registered to vote but is at the wrong precinct, the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot for federal offices only.
(2) If the voter wants to vote in a precinct that is not in the parish where he or she is registered to vote, the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot for federal offices only.
(3) If the voter is not registered to vote in Louisiana, the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot for federal offices only.
In each of the above circumstances, the voter must certify in writing on the ballot that he or she is eligible to vote. The voter "will not be permitted to vote on the voting machine for state, local or municipal offices; propositions; or state constitutional amendments."
Was your provisional ballot counted?
"If you cast a paper provisional ballot for federal offices only, your provisional ballot may or may not be counted. You must be a registered voter in the parish where you vote and eligible to vote in the election for federal office for your vote to be counted. If you cast a provisional ballot for a U.S. representative, you must be a registered voter in that congressional district," according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website.[11]
Visit the office of the Secretary of State’s Provisional Ballot Search tool to check the status of your provisional ballot. The secretary of state recommends waiting at least seven days after an election before checking the status of the provisional ballot.[11]
Local election officials
Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool. |
Primary election type
- See also: Primary elections in Louisiana
Louisiana does not conduct typical primary elections. Instead, all candidates running for a local, state, or federal office appear on the same ballot in either October (in odd-numbered years) or November (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. If a candidate wins a simple majority of all votes cast for the office (i.e., 50 percent, plus one vote), he or she wins the election outright. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers advance to a second election in either November (in odd-numbered years) or December (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. In that election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins. Ballotpedia refers to Louisiana's electoral system as the Louisiana majority-vote system. It is also commonly referred to as a jungle primary. Because it is possible for a candidate to win election in the first round of voting, Louisiana's nominating contest is not a traditional primary.
Time off work for voting
Ballotpedia did not find a law specifying whether voters must be given time off from work to vote in this state. Nolo.com notes that states without such state laws may have administrative regulations or local ordinances pertaining to time off for voting and suggests calling your local board of elections or state labor department for more information.[12]
If you know of a relevant policy in this state, please email us. As of 2020, 28 states had laws requiring employers to provide time off for voting under certain conditions.
Voting rules for people convicted of a felony
- See also: Voting rights for convicted felons
According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office,
| “ | To reinstate your voter registration that was suspended for a felony conviction, you must appear in person at the registrar of voters office and provide documentation from the appropriate correction official showing that you are no longer under an order of imprisonment or, if under such order of imprisonment, that you have not been incarcerated pursuant to the order within the last five years and that you are not under an order of imprisonment related to a felony conviction for election fraud or any other election offense.
The personal appearance requirement does not apply to a person approved as eligible for the Special Program for Handicapped Voters prior to January 1, 2010, or a person who has submitted to the registrar a current proof of disability from a physician as described in La R.S. 18:177(A)(2)(6)."[13][14] |
” |
Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[15]
Voter list maintenance
All states have rules under which they maintain voter rolls—or, check and remove certain names from their lists of registered voters. Most states are subject to the parameters set by The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).[16] The NVRA requires states to make efforts to remove deceased individuals and individuals who have become ineligible due to a change of address. It prohibits removing registrants from voter lists within 90 days of a federal election due to change of address unless a registrant has requested to be removed, or from removing people from voter lists solely because they have not voted. The NVRA says that states may remove names from their registration lists under certain other circumstances and that their methods for removing names must be uniform and nondiscriminatory.[17]
When names can be removed from the voter list
Louisiana law authorizes election officials to remove the names of voters from the registered voting list if an individual:[18]
- confirms in writing that they moved outside of their voting jurisdiction
- requests in writing to be removed from the list
- is determined to be unqualified to vote
- dies
- remains in inactive status through two consecutive federal general elections.
Louisiana law authorizes election officials to suspend the names of voters on the registered voter list if an individual:
- is convicted of a felony and incarcerated[19]
Inactive voter list rules
If election officials determine that a voter may no longer be eligible to vote in their voting jurisdiction, they are to send the voter an address confirmation notice and list their status as inactive. If the voter responds and confirms that they still reside within the parish, they are to be returned to active status. Alternatively, they may respond that they have moved to a different parish and have their registration transferred. If the voter does not respond and remains in inactive status through the next two federal general elections, their registration is to be canceled.
The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)
According to its website, ERIC is a nonprofit corporation that is governed by a board of member-states. These member states submit voter registration and motor vehicle registration information to ERIC. ERIC uses this information, as well as Social Security death records, to provide member states with detailed reports showing voters who have moved within their state, moved out of their state, died, have duplicate registrations in their state, or are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered. ERIC's website describes its funding as follows: "Each state pays annual dues, which are determined by a formula approved by the ERIC membership. The formula includes a state's citizen voting age population as a factor."[20]
By 2022, 33 states and the District of Columbia had joined ERIC. As of August 2023, 26 states and the District of Columbia were members in the ERIC program.[21]
As of August 2023, Louisiana was not participating in the ERIC program.
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin (R) withdrew Louisiana from ERIC on January 27, 2022, saying the decision was in response to “reports about potential questionable funding sources and that possibly partisan actors may have access to ERIC network data for political purposes.”[22]
Post-election auditing
Louisiana state law does not require post-election audits.[23]
As of 2023, the secretary of state is required to adopt and implement uniform policies and procedures for the conduct of post-election tabulation audits of paper ballots and related records. The timing of implementation depends on theadoption of a new voting system.[23]
Post-election audits check that election results tallied by a state's voting system match results from paper records, such as paper ballots filled out by voters or the paper records produced by electronic voting machines. Post-election audits are classified into two categories: audits of election results—which include traditional post-election audits as well as risk-limiting audits—and procedural audits.[15][24]
Typically, traditional post-election audits are done by recounting a portion of ballots, either electronically or by hand, and comparing the results to those produced by the state's voting system. In contrast, risk-limiting audits use statistical methods to compare a random sample of votes cast to election results instead of reviewing every ballot. The scope of procedural audits varies by state, but they typically include a systematic review of voting equipment, performance of the voting system, vote totals, duties of election officials and workers, ballot chain of custody, and more.
As of December 2023, 41 states and the District of Columbia required some form of post-election audit. Of these, 36 states and the District of Columbia required traditional post-election audits, three states required risk-limiting post-election audits, and two states required procedural post-election audits.[25]
Noteworthy events
Election dates postponed (2021)
On September 8, 2021, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin (R) announced that Governor John Bel Edwards (D) had agreed to postpone the state's fall elections. The first-round and second-round elections were rescheduled to take place on November 13, 2021, and December 11, 2021, respectively. The first-round and second-round elections were originally scheduled to take place on October 9, 2021, and November 13, 2021. The governor's office confirmed the postponements on September 9, 2021.[26][27]
In a September 7, 2021, press release outlining his recommendation for the postponements, Ardoin said, "A number of issues stemming from Hurricane Ida's devastation, including questions about nursing home operations, postal service delivery, extensive power outages, polling location damages, and election commissioners and staff members still displaced, would make holding the election on its original dates virtually impossible without impairing the integrity of the election."[28]
Election policy ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Louisiana.
- Louisiana Presidential Electors Amendment (1968)
- Louisiana Legislative Vacancy Amendment (1970)
- Louisiana Right to Serve at Polls Amendment (1970)
- Louisiana Elections Amendment (1972)
- Louisiana Special Elections Amendment (1972)
- Louisiana Residency Requirement for Voters Amendment (1972)
- Louisiana Requirements for Write-in Candidates Amendment (1972)
- Louisiana Unopposed Candidates Amendment (1972)
- Louisiana Judicial Vacancy Amendment (October 1983)
- Louisiana Amendment 1, Ban on Private or Foreign Funding of Election Costs Amendment (October 2023)
The table below lists bills related to election administration that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Louisiana. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
- Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments
- We translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language
- And because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan
The Ballot Bulletin
The Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy. The Ballot Bulletin tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker. You'll also be able to track relevant legislation, with links to and summaries of the bills themselves.
Click here to view recent issues and subscribe.
Ballot access
In order to get on the ballot in Louisiana, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.
There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.
- An individual can seek the nomination of a state-recognized political party.
- An individual can run as an independent. Independent candidates often must petition in order to have their names printed on the general election ballot.
- An individual can run as a write-in candidate.
This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in Louisiana. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, see "Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Louisiana." Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).
Louisiana utilizes a majority voting system, adopted in 1975, in which a candidate must win an outright majority of the vote in order to be elected. If no candidate meets that threshold in the general election, the top two vote-getters, regardless of partisan affiliation, advance to a runoff election. For more information about Louisiana's electoral system, see this article.
Redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Louisiana
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Louisiana's six United States Representatives and 145 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.[29][30][31][32]
Louisiana was apportioned six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. Click here for more information about redistricting in Louisiana after the 2020 census.
State process
- See also: State-by-state redistricting procedures
In Louisiana, both congressional and state legislative districts are drawn by the state legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor. In the event that the legislature is unable to approve state legislative district boundaries, the state supreme court must draw the lines. There is no such practice that applies to congressional districts.[33]
The state legislature has adopted guidelines for redistricting. These guidelines suggest that both congressional and state legislative districts be contiguous and "respect recognized political boundaries and the natural geography of the state to the extent practicable." These guidelines are non-binding; as such, the legislature may alter them at its discretion.[33]
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Louisiana can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Louisiana Registrar of Voters
Secretary of State:
- Physical address: 8585 Archives Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70809
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 94125, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125
- Telephone: 225-922-0900
- Toll-free: 800-883-2805
- Fax: 225-922-0945
- http://www.sos.la.gov/
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- 1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300
- Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
- Telephone: 866-747-1471
Ballotpedia's election coverage
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2024
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2024
- Democratic Party gubernatorial primaries, 2024
- Democratic Party Secretary of State primaries, 2024
- Democratic Party Attorney General primaries, 2024
- State legislative Democratic primaries, 2024
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2024
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2024
- Republican Party gubernatorial primaries, 2024
- Republican Party Secretary of State primaries, 2024
- Republican Party Attorney General primaries, 2024
- State legislative Republican primaries, 2024
See also
- 2024 election dates and deadlines
- Voting in Louisiana
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Louisiana
- Redistricting in Louisiana
Elections in Louisiana
- Louisiana elections, 2023
- Louisiana elections, 2022
- Louisiana elections, 2021
- Louisiana elections, 2020
- Louisiana elections, 2019
- Louisiana elections, 2018
- Louisiana elections, 2017
- Louisiana elections, 2016
- Louisiana elections, 2015
- Louisiana elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ We use the term "absentee/mail-in voting" to describe systems in which requests or applications are required. We use the term "all-mail voting" to denote systems where the ballots themselves are sent automatically to all voters. We use the hyphenate term for absentee voting because some states use “mail voting” (or a similar alternative) to describe what has traditionally been called "absentee voting."
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "FAQ: Voting on Election Day," accessed April 11, 2023
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Vote on Election Day," accessed April 11, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Register to Vote," accessed April 11, 2023
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Vote Absentee," accessed April 11, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Vote Absentee," accessed April 11, 2023
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Vote on Election Day," accessed October 3, 2019
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Louisiana voters' bill of rights and voting information," accessed April 11, 2023
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Voter Identification Requirements|Voter ID Laws," March 9, 2023
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Do I need an ID to vote? A look at the laws in all 50 states," October 27, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Vote Provisionally," accessed April 11, 2023
- ↑ NOLO, "Taking Time Off to Vote," accessed September 13, 2019
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed April 11, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," April 6, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ncsl" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Justice Department notes, "Six States (Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) are exempt from the NVRA because, on and after August 1, 1994, they either had no voter-registration requirements or had election-day voter registration at polling places with respect to elections for federal office."
- ↑ The United States Department of Justice, "The National Voter Registration Act of 1993," accessed Aprl 4, 2023
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "18.173, 18.193, and 18.196," April 11, 2023
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "18.176," April 11, 2023
- ↑ ERIC, "Home," accessed April 4, 2023
- ↑ ERIC, "Who We Are," accessed August 7, 2023
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, “Louisiana to suspend participation in voter registration compact,” January 27, 2022
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 National Conference of State Legislatures, "Post-Election Audits," accessed September 22, 2023
- ↑ Election Assistance Commission, "Election Audits Across the United States," accessed August 15, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted in June 2023, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Office of the Louisiana Secretary of State, "SECRETARY OF STATE ARDOIN ANNOUNCES RESCHEDULING OF FALL 2021 ELECTIONS," September 8, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Governor of Louisiana, "Gov. Edwards Delays Fall Elections in Louisiana Following Hurricane Ida," September 9, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Louisiana Secretary of State, "SECRETARY OF STATE ARDOIN CALLS ON GOVERNOR TO RESCHEDULE FALL 2021 ELECTIONS," September 7, 2021
- ↑ All About Redistricting, "Why does it matter?" accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Indy Week, "Cracked, stacked and packed: Initial redistricting maps met with skepticism and dismay," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Atlantic, "How the Voting Rights Act Hurts Democrats and Minorities," June 17, 2013
- ↑ Redrawing the Lines, "The Role of Section 2 - Majority Minority Districts," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 All About Redistricting, "Louisiana," accessed April 30, 2015
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