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Voting Resources - Louisiana

The right to vote is crucial, especially for social workers who must stay informed about candidates and their positions, as these elected officials make decisions that directly affect the profession, including funding for social work programs. Social workers are uniquely positioned to empower their clients by helping them register to vote and stay informed about upcoming elections, ensuring their voices are heard.

2026 Election Information

2026 Primary & Midterm Elections Important Dates and Deadlines:
2026 Louisiana Elections Calendar

Primary
April 15th: In-person and mail-in registration deadline
April 25th: Online registration deadline
May 2nd: Early voting begins
May 9th: Early voting ends
May 12th: Absentee request ballot (received by 4:30pm) deadline
May 15th : Absentee ballot returned by mail and in person (received by 4:30pm) deadline
May 16th: In-person voting (7am- 8pm)

Midterms
October 5th: In-person and mail-in registration deadline
October 13th: Online registration deadline
October 20th: Early voting begins
October 27th: Early voting ends
November 30th: Absentee request ballot (received by 4:30pm) deadline
November 3rd: Absentee ballot returned by mail and in person (received by 4:30pm) deadline
November 3rd: In-person voting

Important Tips for Voters

Do you need to register to vote or update your registration information? See how to register here and how to update registration information here.
If you are unsure if you are registered, check here to find out!
Sample ballots are populated three weeks prior to each election and can be found here.
When voting in person be sure to bring an approved form of I.D., to see what forms of I.D. are accepted see more details here.
There are multiple way to vote, see the following links to learn more about each way:

General Voting Resources

Learn where your voter precinct is here and learn where the early voting locations are here.

NASW is hosting a webinar for student social workers, “Prepping for the 2024 Elections: What Social Work Students Can Do” on October 17, 2024! Find registration information here.

You can contact your representatives to show support or advocate for change, find who represents you here!

Find your parishes registrar of voter’s information here. If you have any questions about voting or elections you can contact them to get more details.

Louisiana has programs in place to assist those with disabilities in participating in voting, for more details on these programs see here.

To see more resources on how to increase voter participation see NASW’s Increasing Voter Participation page.

To learn more about NASW-LA’s legislative priorities see this webpage for more details.

If you are interested in becoming more involved during elections there are a few ways you can do so, see the following links for more details:

There are organizations in Louisiana that are dedicated to promoting education about voting and empowering citizens to participate in voting, to learn more see the following links:

League of Women Voters of Louisiana - A nonpartisan organization that has been dedicated since 1920 to encouraging voters to being informed and active participants in government
Council for a Better Louisiana – A nonpartisan organization founded in 1962 with a mission to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Louisiana through educating citizen on public policy and advocating for change.

Voter accessibility

There are programs for voters with disabilities and senior citizens and nursing home residents. Voters with disabilities and senior citizens qualify for an automatic absentee ballot program. Those in nursing homes may enroll in a program to vote early where the registrars of voters will visit their nursing home one week before early voting begins to let them cast their ballots. To see more information on the applications and requirements of these programs see this webpage.
Louisiana law requires all polling places to meet minimum compliance standards for individuals with special needs. To learn more about these standard see here.
To learn more about other accommodations that are available at voting locations in Louisiana here.

Justice involved

If someone has been on probation or parole for a continuous five year period they are able to regain their voting rights even if they are still on probation or parole at the time.
The completion of one’s full sentences including probation of parole makes them eligible to participate in voting.
To learn more about voting as a justice involved or formerly justice involved person in Louisiana see here.

Information for LGBTQ+

The American Civil Liberties Union Louisiana has an information page for voting while trans in Louisiana with a guide for voters and poll commissioners. To learn more about voting while trans in Louisiana see their website here.
The Humans Rights Campaign Louisiana is dedicated to fighting for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community through advocating for change at the local and state levels. To learn more about how to get involved see more here.

Homelessness

Louisiana does require a residence address to register to vote but those experiencing homelessness can use a shelter or any street corner, park, or public place as their residence.
An I.D. is required for voting in Louisiana but if you do not have one there are alternative options, see here to learn more.

Military and Overseas

The Military and Overseas Voter Act was passed in 2009 providing updated procedures for voting by military and overseas citizens. The Louisiana legislature passed Act 624 to implement the MOVE Act for Louisiana’s military and overseas citizen and then amended the law with Act 195 to allow for greater flexibility for the population to vote cast ballots. To learn more about the MOVE Act see here, to learn more about the amendment see here.
Military and overseas citizens request for absentee ballots needs to be received by the parish registrars of voters no later than 4:30pm one day prior to the scheduled election day. To learn more about how to request absentee ballots see here.