Louisiana Absentee Voter Guide

Military and overseas voters should check out the Overseas Vote Foundation.  Long Distance Voter's forms and deadlines should only be used by voters with US mailing addresses.

First time voters who register by mail must vote in person.  You may vote on Election Day or during the early voting period, but you cannot vote by absentee ballot. 

Mail-In Deadlines 

General Election: November 4, 2008

Voter Registration

To register to vote in Louisiana you must:

• be a citizen of the United States
• be a resident of Louisiana (residence address must be the address where you claim homestead exemption, if any)
• be at least 17 years old, and be 18 years old before the next election to vote
• not currently be under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony
• not currently be under a judgment of interdiction for mental incompetence

How to register to vote:

Recommended: Use our Voter Registration Widget.  Enter your information, print and sign the completed form, and mail it to the address printed on the form. 

You can also download Louisiana's state voter registration form.  Fill out the form and mail it to your Parish Registrar of Voters.  If you don't know your parish, you can look it up here. 

Student voters:

Students may use their home residence address within the state or their school address for voter registration purposes. Out of state students are allowed to use their school address in Louisiana if they want to register to vote in Louisiana. 

Voter identification requirements:

If you registered by mail and have not previously voted in the parish where you registered, you must vote in person the first time you vote. You may vote during the early voting period or on Election Day.

A picture ID is required from all in-person voters.  Acceptable forms of ID include a Louisiana driver's license, a Louisiana Special ID card, or other generally recognized picture identification card. If you do not have a picture ID card, you may sign an affidavit which will be attached to the precinct register, and you will be required to provide further identification as requested by the Commissioner at the polling place.

Voter registration verification:

You should receive written confirmation that your voter registration was processed in 2-3 weeks.  Don't panic if you never receive your voter registration card: you don't actually need it to vote.  If you not sure if your registration was processed - or if you simply can't remember if you're register to vote - you can use the voter registration verification tools here.

Absentee Voting 

First-time voters who registered by mail may not vote by absentee ballot.  If you have already voted in person at least once, you may vote by absentee ballot if:

• you are a member of the United States Armed Service (or a spouse or dependent of a member of the armed forces);
• you are a student, instructor, or professor in an institution of higher learning located outside of your parish of registration, and you live outside of your parish, (or spouses or dependents accompanying and residing therewith);
• you are a minister, priest, rabbi, or other members of the clergy assigned to a religious post outside of your parish of registration (or spouses or dependents accompanying and residing therewith);
• you are or expect to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or outside of your parish of registration during the early voting period and on election day;
• you have moved to a parish which is more than 100 miles from the parish where you are registered and it is too late to register in your new parish; 
• you are involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside of your registration parish and you are not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent;
• you reside outside the United States;
• you expect to be hospitalized on election day and either were hospitalized or expect to be hospitalized during the early voting period; or you did not learn that you would be hospitalized until after the early voting period expired; or you have been hospitalized and released but your physician has ordered you to remain in bed during the early voting period and on Election Day;
• you expect to be out of your precinct upon the waters of the state both during the early voting period and on election day because of your employment or occupation (e.g., working offshore);
• you are approved for the Special Handicap Program and are living at home, not in a nursing home;
• you are incarcerated in an institution inside or outside your parish of registration and are not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony;
• you are 65 years of age or older; or
• you have a mobility impaired identification card issued by the office of motor vehicles (include a copy of mobility impaired i.d. card with your application). 

How to apply for an absentee ballot:

Download and complete the Louisiana application for an absentee ballot.  Mail or hand-deliver your completed application to your Parish Registrar of Voters.  Once they process it, they'll mail your ballot to you. Be sure to request your ballot before the deadline!

Your request for an absentee ballot will be rejected if:

• Your request for an absentee ballot was received too early; the earliest a request for an absentee ballot can be accepted is 60 days prior to the election.
• Your request for an absentee ballot was received too late; the request deadline is four days before election day.
• If you registered by mail and have not previously voted in the parish where you registered, you must vote in person either during the early voting period or at the precinct on election day.
• You requested an absentee ballot from a parish or district/precinct where you are not registered to vote.
• You registered after the voter registration books were closed 30 days prior to election day.
• Your request for an absentee ballot was incomplete.

ID requirements for absentee voters:

You do not need to provide ID if you have already voted in person in your parish at least once.  If you haven't voted in person at least once, you cannot vote by absentee ballot. 

Absentee ballot directions:

The form itself is pretty straightforward.  Fill it out, seal it, and sign where indicated.  You must also have the ballot signed by a witness or a notary public.  Return your Absentee Ballot to your Parish Registrar of Voters.  Do NOT mail your ballot to the Secretary of State.

State Contact Information