Student Voting Project | Louisiana

Voting at School

ID Requirements

All Louisiana voters will be asked at the polls to show a photo ID that includes your name, address, and signature.  A student ID will count if it includes all of these components.  If you don't 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 to identify yourself and vote a regular ballot.  If you're a first-time voter who registered by mail whose driver's license number or Social Security number can't be verified, you may additionally have to affirm your residence to vote.  If you can't show ID or otherwise prove your identity, you can cast a provisional ballot, which will be counted if it's determined that you were eligible to vote.  County clerks have discretion in deciding what forms of ID will count.

If you register in person at a parish office, you'll also be asked to show ID when you register to prove your identity, age, and residency.

Registration Requirements

You must register at least 30 days before Election Day. Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by that deadline.  If you register in person, you will have to show ID (see below).

Residency Requirements

Louisiana law explicitly gives students who move to the state in order to attend school the right to register at their school address.  Or, if you're from another parish in Louisiana, you can choose to register either at your school address or your home address.

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've already registered to vote in another state.  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 might 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.

Because the law in Louisiana is so clear, it's 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 sue for relief at your local district court.  The registrar can also try to cancel your registration after you're on the rolls.

Your residency can also be challenged on Election Day by a partisan watcher, a poll worker, or another voter.  If the poll workers find you eligible, you can vote.

Absentee Requirement

Any registered voter may vote absentee if they expect to be absent from their registered voting precinct on Election Day and during the early voting period. Students are expressly allowed to vote absentee if they attend school outside of their parish of residence.   Students are also specially allowed to vote absentee after registering by mail;  you'll need to send a copy of your student ID card or a current tuition bill with your application for an absentee ballot.   Blank applications are available on the web site of the Secretary of State.  Your application must be received by the registrar's office at least four days before Election Day.  Your absentee ballot must be received by the day before Election Day.  If you are worried that you don't 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.  Neither your application nor your ballot need to be witnessed or notarized.

Voting at Home

ID Requirements

All Louisiana voters will be asked at the polls to show a photo ID that includes your name, address, and signature.  A student ID will count if it includes all of these components.  If you don't 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 to identify yourself and vote a regular ballot.  If you're a first-time voter who registered by mail whose driver's license number or Social Security number can't be verified, you may additionally have to affirm your residence to vote.  If you can't show ID or otherwise prove your identity, you can cast a provisional ballot, which will be counted if it's determined that you were eligible to vote.  County clerks have discretion in deciding what forms of ID will count.

If you register in person at a parish office, you'll also be asked to show ID when you register to prove your identity, age, and residency.

Registration Requirements

You must register at least 30 days before Election Day. Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by that deadline.  If you register in person, you will have to show ID (see below).

Residency Requirements

Louisiana law explicitly gives students who move to the state in order to attend school the right to register at their school address.  Or, if you're from another parish in Louisiana, you can choose to register either at your school address or your home address.

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've already registered to vote in another state.  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 might 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.

Because the law in Louisiana is so clear, it's 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 sue for relief at your local district court.  The registrar can also try to cancel your registration after you're on the rolls.

Your residency can also be challenged on Election Day by a partisan watcher, a poll worker, or another voter.  If the poll workers find you eligible, you can vote.

Absentee Requirement

Any registered voter may vote absentee if they expect to be absent from their registered voting precinct on Election Day and during the early voting period. Students are expressly allowed to vote absentee if they attend school outside of their parish of residence.   Students are also specially allowed to vote absentee after registering by mail;  you'll need to send a copy of your student ID card or a current tuition bill with your application for an absentee ballot.   Blank applications are available on the web site of the Secretary of State.  Your application must be received by the registrar's office at least four days before Election Day.  Your absentee ballot must be received by the day before Election Day.  If you are worried that you don't 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.  Neither your application nor your ballot need to be witnessed or notarized.

[1] The Louisiana Secretary of State's Office declined to review this guide, stating that they do not offer formal interpretations of law.

[2] Id. at § 18:101(C).

[3] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:113 (2007).

[4] La. R.S. 18:193

[5] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:565 (2008).

[6] Id.

[7] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:135 (2007).

[8] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115(E)(1) (2007).

[9] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:562(2) (2007).

[10] Id.

[11] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:196 

[12] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:566.2(A)

[13] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:105

[14] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1303(B)(2) (2007).

[15] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:115(F)(2) (2007).

[16] Id.

[17] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1307(B)(2) (2007).

[18] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1308(C) (2007).

[19] La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:1308(A)(1)(b) (2007).