At a Glance: Louisana

Louisana Voting Rules

Voter Registration Form:
Forms can be found here. Voter registration forms can be requested in bulk from the Louisiana Secretary of State at 225-922-0900.

Deadline to Register:
30 days prior to the election (Oct 5, 2008).

Voter Eligibility:
Individuals will be eligible to vote if they: are a US citizen; will be at least 18 years of age on Election Day; are not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony; are not under a judgment of full interdiction or limited interdiction in which their right to vote has been suspended; reside in the state and parish in which they seek to register to vote.

Identification Requirements:
On the voter registration form, individuals must provide their Louisiana driver's license number, if issued. If not issued, they must provide at least the last four digits of their social security number, if issued. If neither a social security number nor a Louisiana driver's license number has been issued, and this form is submitted by mail, and they are registering to vote for the first time in Louisiana, in order to avoid additional identification requirements attach either a) a copy of a current and valid photo identification or b) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows their name and address.

Where to Turn in Your Registration:
Voter registration forms should be mailed or hand delivered to the voter’s local Registrar of Voters. A list of local Registrars can be found at this link.

How to Register Others:
There are no state-specific regulations to register voters.

Absentee Voting:
Absentee voting is available. Excuses are necessary.

Excuses: In order to vote absentee by mail, a voter must be one of the following:

• A member of the United States Service.

• A student, instructor, or professor in an institution of higher learning located outside the parish in which he is qualified to vote and who lives outside of said parish.

• A minister, priest, rabbi, or other member of the clergy assigned to a religious post outside the parish in which he/she is registered.

• A person who is or who expects to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from the parish in which he is qualified to vote during the absentee voting period and on Election Day.

• A person who, after the registration books have closed, has moved his residence to another parish and the new residence is more than one hundred miles from the parish seat of the parish of his former residence, in which case he may vote by absentee ballot in the parish of his former residence.

• A person involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside the parish in which he is qualified to vote, who is not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent.

• A person residing outside the United States.

• A sequestered jury member.

• A person who expects to be hospitalized or restricted to his/her bed on Election Day.

• A person employed upon state waters.

• Special handicapped persons.

• A person incarcerated (except for felons).

Begin the Application Process Applications should be mailed, faxed, or hand delivered to the voters local Parish Registrars Office. A list of local Parish Registrars can be found at this website.
Dates: The deadlines for returning the absentee ballot to the Registrar of Voters are as follows:
For military personnel: Election Day. For U.S. citizens residing outside the United States: Election Day. For all other voters: Day before Election Day (Nov 3, 2008)

Early Vote:
Early voting is available. Excuses are necessary. Excuses: In order to early vote, a voter must meet one of the following qualifications:

• Expect to be absent from the parish in which he is qualified to vote on Election Day.

• Expect to be hospitalized on election day or expect to be hospitalized and released prior to election day but expect to be restricted to bed by a physician on Election Day.

• Be a member of the United States Service and expect to be out of the parish on Election Day.

• Be a student, instructor, or professor in an institution of higher learning located outside the parish in which he is qualified to vote and who lives outside of said parish.

• Be a minister, priest, rabbi, or other member of the clergy assigned to a religious post outside of the United States.

• Reside outside the United States and expect to be out of the parish on election day.

• Be a person who, after the registration books have closed, has moved his residence to another parish, and the new residence is more than one hundred miles from the parish seat of the parish of his former residence, in which case he may vote by absentee ballot in the parish of his former residence.

• Involuntarily confined to an institution for mental treatment who is not interdicted and judicially declared mentally incompetent.

• By virtue of his employment or occupation, expect to be out of his parish of registration on Election Day.

• Be a disabled voter.

• Declare to the registrar that tenets of his/her religion require his/her attendance at religious services on election day, prevent him/her from affixing his handwritten signature on any ballot or registration rolls on an election day, or otherwise prevent him/her from casting his/her ballot on Election Day.

• Be a clerk of court, registrar of voters, or a person who is employed by the secretary of state, the commissioner of elections, a clerk of court, or registrar of voters and who, by virtue of his employment, expects to be unable to go to his polling place on Election Day

• Be a person serving as commissioner-in-charge, commissioner, or alternate commissioner for an election in a precinct other than the precinct in which he is registered to vote.

• Be sixty-five years of age or older.

• Any person who has registered by mail who has not previously voted in any election.

Dates: In person absentee voting is conducted at the local Registrar Office 6 to 12 days prior to Election Day. Individuals may wish to contact their Parish Registrar for specific dates and times. A list of local Parish Registrars can be found at this website.

For More Information
Louisana Secretary of State Post Office Box 94125 Baton Rouge, LA 70804 Phone: 225-922-0900
Visit their website

Info about veterans, voting in other states, etc.

Please see this website for more information on U.S. Military Voter Services and voting overseas.

Click here to return to our Voter Registration Action Center home page.

Read our voter registration event guide here.

Visit Louisana's state home page.