Louisiana voting issues

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Election and registration information

  • ELECTION DAY VOTING HOURS: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Voter ID requirements

When you go to the polls to cast your vote in an election, be sure to take one of the following:

  • a driver's license,
  • a Louisiana Special ID, or
  • some other generally recognized picture ID that contains your name, address, and signature.

Voters who have no picture ID may bring a utility bill, payroll check or government document that includes their name and address but they will have to sign an affidavit furnished by the Elections Division in order to vote.

Voting machines

2008 election

For the 2008 election Louisiana used the following voting machines. For a county-by-county list of the specific machines (and the source for this section) see Verified Voting's Verifier tool.

Main article: Voting machines

Assistive Devices for Marking Paper Ballots

Governmental election authorities

Secretary of State Jay Dardenne

Contact information:

  • Louisiana Secretary of State
  • P.O. Box 94125
  • Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125
  • 922-0900 or 800-883-2805 * FAX: 922-0945


Election threats

  • November 4, 2008. Concerns about voter purges in Louisiana continue. The Louisiana State Democractic Party's attorney Randy Piedrahita testified before the state House and Governmental Affairs committee that Democrats are being disproportionately removed from voter rolls. [1] The ratio of removal of Democrats ranged from 2 to 1 in some parishes to as high as 25 to 1; Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne denies that there is any organized effort to target Democratic registrations. [2]
  • October 31, 2008. The League of Women Voters of Louisiana warned that some people who registered at state Department of Motor Vehicles offices were not added to the voter rolls. "Incidents have been reported that indicate this problem may be statewide (Orleans Parish to North Louisiana)," stated a press release from the group. [3] Kay Hodges, the commissioner of the Office of Motor Vehicles, responded that the registration process, while not flawless, is reliable and automated. The local registrar of voters, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office and the head of the Office of Motor Vehicles all state that any problems that may exist are isolated. [4]
  • October 30, 2008. 18,000 voters, mostly Democrats, were recently removed from the voter rolls in the weeks before the November election. According to a story in the The Advocate/WBRZ News[5], "In 2008, there have been 18,175 removals as a result of challenges and in 2007, there were 16,927. But in the year prior to that, there were 3,681 and in 2003 there were only 1,079."

State and local non-governmental election organizations

League of Women Voters

LWV of Louisiana, Mrs. Jean Armstrong, President

  • 728 North Blvd.
  • Baton Rouge, LA 70802-0000
  • Phone: 225-344-3326
  • Fax: 225-344-3326
  • E-mail: lwvla@cox.net
  • http://www.lwv-la.org

Local Leagues:

Articles and resources

See also

Election law


References

  1. The Institute for Southern Studies, Voting Rights Watch: Louisiana Democrats question massive voter purge
  2. The Institute for Southern Studies, Voting Rights Watch: Louisiana Democrats question massive voter purge
  3. Press release, "Louisiana Motor Voter Registration Problems," League of Women Voters of Louisiana, October 31, 2008.
  4. Mark Ballard and Marsha Shuler, "La. voter process flagged," The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), November 4, 2008.
  5. "Democrats allege voter purge," The Advocate/WBRZ News, October 30, 2008.

External resources

Poll location

Election Protection hotlines

Voting information

Voting rights

Voting requirements

Election officials, election reform groups, and elected officials

Absentee voting

Disabled voters

Student voting rights

State ballot

  • See how organizations you trust recommend you vote on ballot measures and other statewide contests at TransparentDemocracy.

Languages

  • Help in other languages from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. 中文, 日本語, 한국어, Tagalog, Tiếng Việt, Español

Voting machines

External articles