Student Voting Guide | Louisiana
This student voting guide explains the laws for the state of Louisiana. If you wish to vote from your school address, check the student voting guide for the state where you attend school. If you want to cast an absentee ballot in your home state, check the student voting guide for that state.
The Brennan Center is committed to giving students as much information as possible to help you exercise your constitutional right to vote. More than ever in recent history, changes to voting laws are being implemented in ways that can affect your ability to make your vote count. In addition to the content you will find in this Student Voting Guide, a report that we issued last year documents a number of these changes and we continue to track passed and pending voting law changes here. While we are working to give you up-to-date information, we urge you to be proactive! In order to ensure you have all the information you need before casting your vote, you should also check with your state and local election officials for information about additional requirements or regulations.
This voting guide was last updated in June 2012.
In Louisiana, you must register to vote at least 30 days before Election Day.[1] In 2012, the last day to register for the general election is Oct. 9, 2012.[2] If you have a Louisiana driver’s license, you can register to vote online by this deadline;[3] otherwise, mailed-in registrations (available to print and mail online) must be received by this deadline.[4]
You may register to vote if you will be 18 or older by the next election.[5]
At School. If you are a full-time student in Louisiana, you may register to vote at either your school address or your home address within the state.[6] In particular, if you are from out of state and have moved to Louisiana in order to attend school, Louisiana law explicitly gives you the right to register at your school address.[7] If you are from Louisiana but attend school in another parish in the state, you can choose to register either at your school address or your home address.[8]
At Home. Like most states, Louisiana allows you to keep your voting residency even if you move out of the county or state to attend school.[9] The only way you will lose your voting residency is if you “abandon” it by asserting residency in another state.[10]
Challenges to Residency. Students have the right to cast a ballot as a resident of Louisiana regardless of whether they pay in-state or out-of-state tuition. Because the law in Louisiana is so clear,[11] it is unlikely that out-of-state students will face residency challenges because of their temporary status. However, if your registration is denied by your parish officials, you are entitled to appeal to a court.[12]
Your eligibility to vote can also be challenged on Election Day by a partisan watcher, a poll worker, or another qualified voter.[13] If this occurs, the commissioners present will by a majority of votes determine whether you can vote.[14] If the commissioners determine that you are not an eligible to vote or otherwise authorized to vote by affidavit, you will still be able to cast a provisional ballot if you declare yourself to be registered and eligible to vote in a federal election.[15] Any challenge to your voter registration made solely on the basis of your student or tuition status is invalid.
When you register to vote, you will be asked to provide a Louisiana driver’s license number or the last four digits of your social security number for verification. If you do not have either number, or the state cannot verify the number you provide, you will be notified by election officials that you will have to supply proof of your identity before you can be registered.[16] This proof can include any current and valid photo identification (including a recognizable student ID[17]), a Louisiana driver's license, a Louisiana special identification card, a social security number, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address.[18]
On election day, you will be asked at the polls to show a “generally recognizable” photo ID (e.g., Louisiana Driver’s License or Special Identification Card) that includes your name, address, and signature.[19] Your student ID will likely count if it includes all of these components.[20] If you do not have a photo ID at the polls, you may still vote by signing an affidavit if you provide other identifying information such as your date of birth to the poll workers.[21] Voting by affidavit, however, may subject you to a challenge by a watcher, poll worker, or another qualified voter (See Challenge Section above).[22]
You may vote absentee if you expect to be absent from your registered voting precinct on Election Day or during the early voting period for any reason.[23] Students are expressly allowed to vote absentee if they attend school outside of their parish of residence and will be out of the parish on Election Day.[24] Applications to vote by absentee ballot are available on the website of the Secretary of State. To receive an absentee ballot by mail in time to vote, the registrar’s office must receive your application (via mail, fax, or in person) by 4:30 p.m. on the fourth day before Election Day, but not earlier than 60 days prior to Election Day.[25]
Once you have received and completed your absentee ballot, you must deliver the ballot to the registrar’s office (via mail, fax, or in person) before 4:30 p.m. on the day before Election Day for your ballot to be counted.[26]
If you are a first-time voter in your parish who registered by mail, you cannot vote with an absentee ballot[27] unless you send a copy of your student ID card or a current tuition bill with your application for an absentee ballot.[28]
As a convenience to eligible voters, Louisiana has early voting—beginning 10 days before a primary or special election and 15 days before a general election—and ending on the Friday before Election Day.[29] You should check with your county elections office for the exact dates, times, and locations for early voting.
Last Updated in June 2012
[1] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:135(A)(1) (West 2012).
[2] The 2012 registration deadline for the general election is extended because 30 days falls on a weekend, which is followed by a holiday (Columbus Day). See http://www.sos.la.gov/tabid/152/Default.aspx.
[3] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115.1 (West 2012).
[4] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115(E) (West 2012).
[5] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(A)(2) (West 2012).
[6] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(C) (West 2012).
[7] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(C) (West 2012).
[8] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(C) (West 2012).
[9] See La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(B) (West 2012).
[10] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(B) (West 2012).
[11] See La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(C) (West 2012).
[12] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:113(A) (West 2012).
[13] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:565(A) (West 2012).
[14] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:565(C) (West 2012).
[15] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:566(A) (West 2012).
[16] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101.1 (West 2012).
[17] Phone Correspondence with Louisiana Division of Elections (April 19, 2012).
[18] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101.1 (West 2012).
[19] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:562(A)(2) (West 2012).
[20] Phone Correspondence with Louisiana Division of Elections (April 19, 2012).
[21] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:562(A)(2) (West 2012).
[22] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:562(A)(2) (West 2012). See also La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:565 (A) (West 2012).
[23] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1303 (West 2012).
[24] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1303(B)(2) (West 2012).
[25] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1307(B)(2) (West 2012).
[26] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1308(C) (West 2012).
[27] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115(F)(1) (West 2012).
[28] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115(F)(2)(b) (West 2012).
[29] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1309(A)(1) (West 2012).
