Louisiana Elections Shift to Closed Party Primaries
Louisiana voters will see a major change in upcoming elections. Secretary of State Nancy Landry says the state will begin using closed party primaries for several major races starting this year.
The change comes after legislation passed in 2024. It applies to five specific races:
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U.S. House
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U.S. Senate
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Public Service Commission
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Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)
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Louisiana Supreme Court
Under the new system, Republicans vote in the Republican primary and Democrats vote in the Democratic primary. Voters without a party affiliation, now labeled “no party” voters, may choose which primary to participate in.
Landry urges voters to check their registration before heading to the polls.
“People may have voted a certain way for years, but that does not change their official registration,” Landry said. “The ballot you receive depends on your registration.”
Voters can confirm their information at GeauxVote.com.
Busy Year for Louisiana Elections
Louisiana faces an unusually packed election calendar in 2026. The state has multiple election dates scheduled throughout the year, including February, March, April, May, June, November, and December.
Some elections apply statewide. Others involve only specific parishes or districts.
For example, one upcoming election involves only State House District 69 in Baton Rouge.
Landry says voter education remains critical as the state adapts to the new election rules.
Legislative Package Targets Election Integrity
The Secretary of State’s office also supports three bills during the current legislative session that aim to strengthen election integrity.
House Bill 691 would require Louisiana to regularly compare voter rolls with federal SAVE data. The database verifies citizenship status. Louisiana already uses the system and previously identified 403 non-citizens on voter rolls.
A bill by Representative Polly Thomas would prohibit photographing or recording voter registration information in precinct registers. Officials say the change protects voters from harassment and potential fraud.
Senate Bill 319, sponsored by Senator Presley, would tighten voter identification rules. The measure requires specific forms of ID rather than broadly defined identification.
Louisiana Ranks High in Election Security
Landry says Louisiana already ranks fourth in the nation for election integrity.
“These bills fine-tune a system that already works well,” she said. “We always look for ways to strengthen our elections and close gaps before they become problems.”