§ 18:1307 — Application by mail

§1307. Application by mail
A. A person qualified to vote absentee by mail under this Chapter may make
application therefor to the registrar by letter; over his signature or mark if the voter is unable
to sign his name, signed by two witnesses who witnessed the applicant's mark; setting forth:
(1) The election or elections for which he requests an absentee ballot.
(2) The reason for his request to vote absentee by mail and attaching any documents
in support thereof that are required by law. Any person who is or expects to be temporarily
outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from the parish in which he is qualified to
vote during the early voting period and on election day and who requests an absentee ballot
be mailed to an address within the parish shall indicate in his application the dates he will
be outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from the parish.
(3) The address to which the absentee ballot or ballots shall be sent. If the address
is within the parish or an adjacent parish, such address shall only be the address at which the
applicant is registered to vote, his mailing address on file with the registrar of voters, or an
address at which he regularly receives mail.
(4) Notwithstanding Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, the absentee by mail ballots
shall not be sent to the following addresses:
(a) The address of a political party.
(b) The residential, business, or campaign address of a candidate, unless the address
is for the candidate's ballot or a ballot of an immediate family member of the candidate.
(c) A business address, unless the business address is the mailing address on file with
the registrar of voters or an address at which the person regularly receives mail.
(d) The address of a political organization as defined in 26 U.S.C. 527.
(e) The address of an organization which has tax-exempt status under Section
501(c)(3) or (4) of the Internal Revenue Code, unless the organization address is the mailing
address on file with the registrar of voters or an address at which the person regularly
receives mail.
(5) The ward and precinct in which the person is qualified to vote, if known.
(6) The date of birth of the voter.
(7) The maiden name of the voter's mother or other identifying information provided
in the voter's application for registration pursuant to R.S. 18:104.
(8) The street address in the parish where the voter resides. A post office box is
insufficient.
(9) If the person requests that a ballot for a general election be sent in addition to a
ballot for the primary, he shall declare in writing to the registrar that he will be eligible to
vote absentee by mail in the general election.
B.(1)(a)(i) An application to vote by mail may be delivered to the registrar by any
means, including the United States Postal Service, commercial delivery service, hand
delivery, or facsimile. No person except the immediate family member of the voter, as
defined in this Code, shall submit by any means or send for delivery by the United States
Postal Service or commercial courier more than one marked ballot application per election
to the registrar of voters.
(ii) If hand delivered by other than a commercial delivery service or the United States
Postal Service, the registrar shall require that the person making such delivery sign the
application. No person, except the immediate family of any voter, shall hand deliver more
than one voter's application to vote by mail to the registrar of voters.
(iii) If sent by facsimile, the person sending the application by facsimile shall sign
the application to indicate that he is the sender and shall include the facsimile number from
where the facsimile was sent. No person, except the immediate family of any voter, shall
send by facsimile more than one voter's application to vote by mail to the registrar of voters.
However, the provisions of this Item shall not apply to an application by a person who is
entitled to vote pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
(b) An application to vote by mail transmitted by facsimile to the registrar of voters
shall not be sent on a facsimile machine that is owned, operated, or under the control of a
candidate or agent of a party or campaign in the election, unless the application is for the
candidate.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, with
respect to members of the United States Service and persons residing outside the United
States who are registered to vote, an application to vote by mail may be delivered to the
registrar by electronic transmission.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, with
respect to applicants who have a valid Louisiana driver's license or Louisiana special
identification card issued pursuant to R.S. 40:1321 who are registered to vote, an application
to vote by mail may be made by completing and submitting an electronic application to vote
by mail on the secretary of state's website.
(2) Except as provided in Subsections C and D of this Section and R.S.
18:1333(D)(1), an application must be received by the registrar not later than 4:30 p.m. on
the fourth day prior to the election for which it is requested, and the date received shall be
noted thereon. However, if the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or other legal holiday,
then the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday shall be deemed to be the
final day of the deadline.
C. If the applicant is a member of the United States Service or resides outside the
United States, he may use the federal postcard application or an application electronically
transmitted by the registrar or secretary of state, and the application shall be received by the
registrar no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day before the election. Such application shall be
valid for a period extending at least one year from the date the application is received in the
office of the registrar of voters; such period shall include at least one regularly scheduled
federal general election. If the registrar rejects the application of an applicant who is a
member of the United States Service or resides outside the United States, the registrar shall
provide the applicant with written reasons for the rejection.
D. If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(D)(1)
and submits with his application documentation showing his hospitalization from his
physician or the hospital, the application shall be received by the registrar of voters no later
than 4:30 p.m. on the day before the election.
E. A person entitled to vote absentee by mail may request in his application for an
absentee ballot for a primary election that an absentee ballot for the succeeding general
election be sent to him when such ballots become available for distribution; however, in such
case, the applicant shall declare in writing to the registrar that he will be eligible to vote
absentee by mail in the general election. For purposes of this Subsection, a party primary
election and the succeeding general election for a party primary office are two separate
elections. Separate requests shall be made to vote absentee by mail for the party primary
election and for the succeeding general election.
F. The registrar shall not send an absentee ballot to an applicant whose application
for an absentee ballot does not meet the requirements of Subsection A or B of this Section.
If the registrar rejects an application for an absentee ballot, the registrar shall provide the
applicant with written reasons for the rejection.
G.(1)(a) If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S.
18:1303(I), his application, if such application meets the requirements of this Section, may
remain valid indefinitely upon request of the applicant.
(b) If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(F)
or (J), his application, if such application meets the requirements of this Section, may remain
valid from the date that the application is received in the office of the registrar of voters until
December thirty-first of the fourth year after the application is received by the registrar. If the
applicant's application was received by the office of the registrar of voters before January 1,
2025, his application shall expire December 31, 2029.
(2) If an absentee by mail ballot that has been sent to the applicant is returned to the
registrar as undeliverable, the applicant's application shall no longer be valid, and the
registrar shall send notice by forwardable mail to such applicant that his application will no
longer be valid. The applicant shall be required to submit a new application to the registrar
that meets the requirements of this Section and provide a current address before the applicant
will be eligible to vote absentee by mail again pursuant to this Section.
H. If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(H),
his application, if such application meets the requirements of this Section, shall remain valid
as long as the applicant is a program participant in the Department of State Address
Confidentiality Program pursuant to Part III of Chapter 1 of Title 44 of the Louisiana Revised
Statutes of 1950. When the applicant ceases participation in the program, the Department
of State shall notify the registrar of the parish where the applicant is registered to vote that
the applicant is no longer a participant in the program. Upon receipt of the notification from
the Department of State, the registrar shall send notice by forwardable mail to the applicant
that his application will no longer be valid, and the applicant shall be required to submit a
new application to the registrar that meets the requirements of this Section and provide a
current address before the applicant will be eligible to vote absentee by mail again pursuant
to this Section.
I. If the registrar of voters has reason to believe that the eligibility of a voter to vote
absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(I) is based upon false or fraudulent information,
he shall immediately notify the parish board of election supervisors. If, after appropriate
hearing and opportunity for the voter to be heard, the parish board of election supervisors
finds that the voter's eligibility to vote absentee by mail was based upon false or fraudulent
information, the board shall inform the appropriate district attorney and the registrar of voters
who shall not allow the voter to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(I).
J. Except as otherwise authorized by law, no person, organization, or entity shall
distribute an application form for an absentee by mail ballot to any person who has not
requested the application under the provisions of this Section.
K.(1) If a gubernatorially declared state of disaster or emergency occurs within
forty-five days of an election, the secretary of state shall determine if the distribution of
absentee by mail ballot applications is necessary for voters displaced by the gubernatorially
declared state of disaster or emergency.
(2) Upon the determination by the secretary of state of the need for the limited
distribution of absentee by mail ballot applications, the secretary shall provide notice to the
Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on House
and Governmental Affairs within ten days of the distribution.
L. The registrar shall not send an absentee ballot for a closed party primary election
for which the voter is not eligible.

Legislative History

Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1977, No. 513, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1980, No. 506, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 1985, No. 754, §1; Acts 1990, No. 107, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; Acts 1997, No. 1420, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 254, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 1181, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 130, §§1 and 3, eff. April 23, 2002; Acts 2003, No. 339, §1, eff. June 13, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 1220, §2, eff. July 3, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 526, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005, §2, eff. June 25, 2004; Acts 2005, No. 220, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2005, No. 431, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 560, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 124, §1; Acts 2007, No. 240, §1; Acts 2008, No. 136, §1, eff. June 6, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 599, §1; Acts 2009, No. 369, §1; Acts 2009, No. 436, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 570, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2011, No. 195, §1, eff. June 24, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 138, §1, eff. May 14, 2012; Acts 2016, No. 281, §1, eff. May 31, 2016; Acts 2017, No. 176, §1, eff. June 14, 2017; Acts 2020, No. 210, §1, eff. June 11, 2020; Acts 2024, No. 317, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2025; Acts 2025, No. 386, §2, eff. See Act.