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Responsive Gov’s Grade TL;DR
The Louisiana State Legislature took significant steps toward modernizing election administration this session. Lawmakers authorized the consolidation of local contests and allocated essential funding to replace the state’s antiquated voting equipment. Furthermore, Governor Landry exercised a strategic veto that preserved legal avenues for future election improvements. These structural and protective advances earned Louisiana a B.
Looking Back
Where Louisiana Started at the Beginning of 2025
- Automatic Voter Registration: No
- Online Voter Registration: DMV ID
- Same-Day Registration: No
- Restoration of Rights: 5 Years Post-Release from State Custody
- Vote by Mail: Excuse-Only
- Electronic Registration Information Center Member: No
- Early Voting Opportunities: Regular Ballot Early Voting
- ID Requirements: ID Requested, but not Required
Relying on the Cost of Voting Index for Louisiana as of 2024, we considered the state a middle tier state for pre-existing voting policy and compared its 2025 activity against other middle tier states.
How Our Tier Compares
2025: This Past Year
Legislative Action
In contrast to prior sessions, the Louisiana State Legislature made several positive changes to its election laws during the 2025 regular session.
- HB 1, the state’s budget bill, allocated $10 million for the purchase of new voting machines.
- HB 323 allows school boards and municipalities the option to align their election dates with fall gubernatorial elections starting in 2031.
- HB 592 allows a voter (or an immediate family member) to get a new mail ballot certificate in person from the registrar to cure a previously flagged deficiency, expands the definition of “immediate family” to include grandparents and grandchildren, expands the list of documents an applicant can use to show a name change when registering to vote, and revises polling place consolidation rules in cases of emergencies.
- HB 482 requires parishes to submit any proposed redrawing of precinct boundaries to their local election clerk to ensure the election can be conducted within the new boundaries.
- HB 577 establishes a new bid process for purchasing vote machines.
- HB 502 expands the reasons a registrar could be removed from office to include incompetence, under performance, and other misconduct and requires a hearing on any accusations. The bill also modifies the “merit system” for registrar performance to require that reviews result in a finding of “excellent,” “successful,” “unsuccessful,” or “not assessed.”
- SCR 35 directs the legislative auditor to conduct an audit of the Department of State’s election policies, procedures, and practices and those of other election officials in the state.