2026 election

Voting in Louisiana

Primary

Held

Saturday, May 16

Early voting

May 2nd – May 9th

General

Tuesday, November 3

Early voting

October 20 – October 27

Register online by: October 13
Register by mail by: October 5
Register in person by: October 5
Request a mail ballot by: October 30, 4:30pm
Mailed ballot must arrive by: November 2, 4:30pm

See every race and candidate on your Louisiana ballot, and where each one stands, before you vote.

Plan your ballot →

How to cast your ballot

By mail

You need one of these reasons:

SENIOR CITIZEN: I am 65 years of age or older.
NURSING HOME: I am a resident of a nursing home (includes veterans’ home and extended hospital stay for a physical disability).
HIGHER EDUCATION: I am a student (Copy of student ID or fee bill is attached if voting for 1st time), instructor, or professor located and living outside my parish of registration, or a spouse/dependent.
CLERGY: I am a minister, priest, rabbi, or other member of the clergy assigned outside my parish of registration, or a spouse/dependent.
TEMPORARILY ABSENT: I am or expect to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from my parish of registration during the early voting period and on Election Day. (If requesting ballot to be mailed to an address within the parish, you must indicate the dates you will be temporarily absent from through_ (provide dates).)
MOVED OUT OF PARISH (less than 30 days before election): I moved my residence to another parish more than 100 miles from the parish seat of my former residence after the voter registration books closed.
INVOLUNTARY CONFINEMENT: I am involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside my parish of registration and I am not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent.
HOSPITALIZED: I expect to be hospitalized on election day and I did not have knowledge until after the time for early voting had expired; or I was hospitalized during the time for early voting and I expect to be hospitalized on election day; or I was either hospitalized or restricted to my bed by my physician during early voting and on election day. (You must enclose proof of hospitalization)
OFFSHORE: I expect to be out of my precinct of registration and upon the waters of the state both during the early voting period and on Election Day because of my employment or occupation.
INCARCERATED: I am incarcerated in an institution inside/outside my parish of registration and I am not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony (certification by sheriff is attached).
ACP: I am a program participant in the Department of State Address Confidentiality Program.
JUROR: I will be sequestered on the day of the election and during early voting (certified copy of court order attached).

Request a ballot Track your ballot The rules Where to drop it off

In person

Polls open on election day: 7am – 8pm
Or vote early: In the windows shown above

What counts as ID

You will be asked to show photo ID to vote in Louisiana.

Acceptable forms of photo ID include:

Louisiana driver's license or special ID card
LA Wallet digital driver's license
United States military identification card that contains your name and picture
some other generally recognized picture ID that contains your name and signature

Voters without ID: If you are unable to provide ID, you may still cast your vote by signature on a voter affidavit.

Find your polling place Early voting

Before you can vote

Registering

Ways to register:

Louisiana lets you pre-register from age 16, so you are on the roll the moment you turn 18.

Who can register, and what you need

To register in Louisiana you must:

be a United States citizen
be at least 17 years old (16 years old if registering in person at the Registrar of Voters Office or at the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles), and you must be at least 18 years old to vote
reside in the state and parish in which you seek to register
not be under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony or, if under such an order, not have been incarcerated pursuant to the order within the last five years and not be under an order of imprisonment related to a felony conviction for election fraud or any other election offense pursuant to La. R.S. 18:1461.2
not be under a judgment of full interdiction for mental incompetence or partial interdiction with suspension of voting rights
be registered at least 20 days prior to an election if registering through the GeauxVote Online Registration System with a Louisiana driver's license or Louisiana special ID card, or 30 days prior to an election if registering in person or by mail to be eligible to vote in that particular election. If mailing in an application, the application or envelope must be postmarked 30 days prior to the first election in which you seek to vote.

Check if you are registered Register

Which primary can you vote in?

To participate in presidential primary elections or elections for party committee members, you must register with the political party whose primary you would like to vote in.<br><br>To participate in Louisiana partisan primary elections for US House of Representatives, US Senate, Justice of the Supreme Court, State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and Public Service Commission, you must either register with the political party whose primary you would like to vote in OR, if you are an unaffiliated voter, choose one party's ballot when you vote. <br><br>For all other races, you are NOT required to register with a party to participate in primary elections.

Dates, deadlines and rules come from DemocracyWorks, last refreshed August 27, 2026; poll hours from our own election guide. Rules change — check with your election office before you rely on a date.