Student Voting Guide | Louisiana
Registration
http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/68/Default.aspx (registration form available online)
http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/OnlineVoterRegistrationOVR/tabid/955/Default.aspx (online registration)
You must register[1] at least 30 days before Election Day.[2] Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by that deadline.[3] You can register to vote online by this deadline if you have a Louisiana driver’s license. If you register in person, you will have to show ID (see below). You may register to vote at 17 if you will be 18 by the next election.[4]
Residency
At School. Louisiana law explicitly gives students who move to the state in order to attend school the right to register at their school address and you do not need “intent to reside indefinitely.”[5] Or, if you are from another parish in Louisiana, you can choose to register either at your school address or your home address.[6]
At Home. Students who lived in Louisiana but moved to another state for school, and who wish to establish or keep their Louisiana voting residency (i.e., at their parents’ address), should have no problem doing so unless they have already registered to vote in another state.[7] Like all states, Louisiana allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the county or state to attend school. The only way you will lose this residency is if you “abandon” it by asserting residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of residency in Louisiana, some judges or officials might view it as such.
Challenges to Residency. Because the law in Louisiana is so clear, 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 apply for relief at your local district court.[8] The registrar can also try to cancel your registration after you are on the voting rolls.[9]
Your eligibility can also be challenged on Election Day by a partisan watcher, a poll worker, or another voter.[10] If the poll workers find you eligible, you can vote.[11]
Identification
All Louisiana voters will be asked at the polls to show a photo ID that includes your name, address, and signature.[12] A student ID will count if it includes all of these components. If you do not have an ID, you can sign an affidavit and either show your voting card or give identifying information, such as your date of birth, to the poll workers and vote a regular ballot.[13] If you are a first-time voter who registered by mail whose driver’s license number or Social Security number cannot be verified, you may additionally have to affirm your residence to vote.[14] If you cannot show ID or otherwise prove your identity, you can cast a provisional ballot, which will be counted if it is determined that you were eligible to vote.[15] County clerks have discretion in deciding what forms of ID will count.
If you register in person at a parish office, you will also be asked to show ID when you register to prove your identity, age, and residency.[16]
Absentee Voting
Any registered voter may vote absentee if they expect to be absent from their registered voting precinct on Election Day or during the early voting period.[17] 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.[18] Students are also explicitly allowed to vote absentee after registering by mail;[19] you will need to send a copy of your student ID card or a current tuition bill with your application for an absentee ballot.[20] Blank applications are available on the web site of the Secretary of State and at the above link. Your application must be received by the registrar’s office by 4:30 p.m. on the fourth day before Election Day.[21] Your absentee ballot must be received before 4:30 p.m. on the day before Election Day.[22] If you are worried that you do not have time to vote by mail, you can contact the clerk for permission to fax your application, and you will also have the option of faxing back your ballot.[23] Neither your application nor your ballot needs to be witnessed or notarized.
Early Voting
As a convenience to voters, Louisiana has early voting which begins 14 days before an election and ends 7 days before Election Day.[24] At early voting sites, you can vote any precinct’s ballot for that county. If you do not consider your school address to be your permanent address, or if you have not changed your residence yet, then early voting provides an opportunity to vote a ballot at the residence from which you are absent. You should contact your local elections office for locations and hours.
Last Updated in April 2010
[1] The Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office declined to review this guide, stating that they do not offer formal interpretations of law.
[2] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:135(A)(1) (West 2009).
[3]La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115(E)(1).
[4] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(A)(2).
[5] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(C) (West 2009).
[6] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(C).
[7] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:101(D).
[8] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:113(A) (West 2009).
[9] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:193(A).
[10] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:565(A).
[11] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:565 (C).
[12] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:562(A)(2.)
[13] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:562(A)(2).
[14] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:196 (West 2009).
[15] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:566.2(A).
[16] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:105(A) (West 2009). Furthermore, a foreign born citizen will also have to show proof of naturalization. Id. at (B)(1).
[17] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1303.
[18] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1303(B)(2).
[19] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115(F)(2)(b) (West 2009).
[20] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115(F)(2)(b).
[21] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1307(B)(2) (West 2009).
[22] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1308(C).
[23] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1308(A)(1)(b). Returning the ballot via fax will necessarily forgo your right to a secret ballot. Id.
[24] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1309(A)(1).
