§ 18:1313.1 — Preparation, verification, tabulation, and counting of absentee by mail and early

Louisiana § 18:1313.1

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 18: Conservation

Text

§1313.1. Preparation, verification, tabulation, and counting of absentee by mail and early
voting ballots
A.(1)(a) Parishes may conduct the preparation and verification process for the
tabulation and counting of absentee by mail and early voting ballots for a primary or general
election the day before the election.
(b) However, with the written approval of the secretary of state, parishes may
conduct the preparation and verification process for the tabulation and counting of absentee
by mail and early voting ballot for a primary or general election beginning three days before
the election.
(2) The tabulation and counting of absentee by mail and early voting ballots shall be
conducted on election day.
B.(1) The parish board of election supervisors shall be responsible for the
preparation, verification, counting, and tabulation of all absentee by mail and early voting
ballots in the parish. The board may utilize parish board commissioners to count the
absentee by mail and early voting ballots in the parish. If the board determines that parish
board commissioners are necessary for the preparation and verification process to count and
tabulate the absentee by mail and early voting ballots before the election and to count and
tabulate the absentee by mail and early voting ballots on election day, it shall select parish
board commissioners in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 18:1314.
(2) If less than a majority but at least two of the members of the board are present
for the preparation and verification process to count the absentee by mail and early voting
ballots and the board cannot locate an alternate designee or appointee, the board shall,
through the registrar of voters, so inform the commissioner of elections and request approval
from the commissioner of elections for the appointment of a parish board commissioner to
serve as a board member. The board shall receive approval of the commissioner of elections
before proceeding with the preparation and verification process without a majority present.
(3) If an insufficient number of parish board commissioners was previously selected
for the preparation and verification process or to count the absentee by mail and early voting
ballots, the board, through the registrar of voters, may request approval from the
commissioner of elections to select a sufficient number of parish board commissioners three
days before the election or on election day, as applicable, to assist in the preparation and
verification process for the tabulation and counting of absentee by mail and early voting
ballots and the tabulation and counting of the ballots.
C.(1) The preparation and verification process for the counting of the absentee by
mail and early voting ballots may be conducted before the election at a public facility within
the parish designated by the registrar of voters at a time fixed by the parish board of election
supervisors.
(2) Absentee by mail and early voting ballots shall be counted at a public facility
within the parish designated by the registrar of voters at a time fixed by the parish board of
election supervisors, which time shall be on election day no later than 8:00 p.m.
(3) Prior to the counting of absentee by mail and early voting ballots on election day,
any person authorized by the secretary of state may assist the registrar of voters in the
challenge removal process on the early voting machines, in the reading of the early voting
machine results cartridges on the secretary of state's equipment, and in producing the early
voting machine results report. All early voting machine results reports shall be placed in the
special, secure absentee by mail and early voting container.
D.(1) If the counting and tabulation of absentee by mail and early voting ballots
begins on election day prior to the closing of the polls, such counting and tabulation shall be
conducted in a location and manner to prevent disclosure of the results prior to the closing
of the polls. Each person except a person providing security to the parish board of election
supervisors; a representative of the attorney general, with written approval of the secretary
of state; the clerk of court; the registrar of voters; or a person providing technical assistance
pursuant to Paragraph (2) of this Subsection who enters the location in which the absentee
by mail and early voting ballots are being counted and tabulated on election day shall remain
in that location and shall not be allowed to leave except temporarily, and then only when
accompanied by a law enforcement officer, and shall not communicate with any person
outside until the polls are closed. The parish board of election supervisors may take any
action necessary to ensure that no information with respect to the counting and tabulation of
absentee by mail and early voting ballots is transmitted from the location where the absentee
by mail and early voting ballots are being counted and tabulated on election day prior to the
close of the polls on election day.
(2) Any person authorized by the secretary of state may provide security or technical
assistance including advice, analysis, diagnosis, or repair for voting machines at the location
where absentee by mail and early voting votes are being counted and tabulated. Such
security or technical assistance shall be provided only upon the request of the parish board
of election supervisors or a team of parish board commissioners, and may be made in person
at the location where absentee by mail and early voting votes are being counted and
tabulated, or by telephone, or both. Any authorized person providing such security or
technical assistance may enter and leave the location where absentee by mail and early voting
votes are being counted and tabulated on election day before the closing of the polls and
during the process of counting and tabulation. No such person shall disclose any information
with respect to the counting and tabulation of absentee by mail and early voting ballots prior
to the close of the polls on election day.
E.(1) Candidates, their representatives, and qualified electors may be present during
the preparation and verification process for the counting and tabulation of absentee by mail
and early voting ballots before the election and the counting and tabulation of absentee by
mail and early voting ballots on election day. If the counting and tabulation of absentee by
mail and early voting ballots begins prior to the closing of the polls on election day, the board
shall give notice reasonably calculated to inform any person who wants to be present during
the counting and tabulation that no person will be allowed to leave or to communicate with
any other person outside, until such time as the polls are closed, nor shall any person who is
present during the counting and tabulation of absentee by mail and early voting ballots on
election day possess a cellular telephone or electronic communication or recording device.
(2) The preparation, verification, counting, and tabulation of absentee by mail and
early voting ballots shall not be video, audio, or tape recorded, filmed, or broadcast live.
F. The board shall count the absentee by mail and early voting ballots and post the
results after the closing of the polls on election day as the total number of absentee by mail
and early voting votes cast in the election for each candidate and the total number cast for
and against each proposition.
G. The procedure for the preparation and verification process for the tabulation and
counting of absentee by mail ballots and early voting paper ballots before the election shall
be as follows:
(1)(a) A member of the board shall remove the certificates, early voting verification
forms, early voting machine public counter logs, early voting confirmation sheets, absentee
by mail ballots, early voting paper ballots, and envelopes containing the absentee by mail
ballots and early voting paper ballots from the special, secure absentee by mail and early
voting ballot container.
(b) The board shall review the early voting verification forms and early voting
machine public counter logs and, if found to be acceptable to the board, sign each early
voting verification form. If the board does not find an early voting verification form to be
acceptable, it may review any early voting confirmation sheet and shall document its
correction to the early voting verification form and then sign it.
(2) The board shall announce the name of each absentee by mail voter, each voter
who voted a paper ballot during early voting, and the ward and precinct where the voter is
registered to vote and shall compare the name on the certificate with the names on the
absentee by mail voter report or early voter report, as applicable.
(3) The board shall separate any ballots that are challenged in accordance with R.S.
18:1315(A), (B), or (C) from the ballots that are not challenged.
(4)(a) If an absentee by mail ballot has not been challenged and is determined by the
board to be valid, a member of the board shall make a check mark on the absentee by mail
voter report beside the name of the voter as it appears on the report and write his initials on
each page of the report. If applicable, a member of the board shall remove the certificate
from the envelope containing the absentee by mail ballot and leave the envelope sealed.
(b) If an early voting paper ballot has not been challenged and is determined by the
board to be valid, a member of the board shall write the words "voted early" and his initials
on the early voter report beside the name of the voter as it appears on the report. A member
of the board shall remove the certificate and leave the envelope sealed.
(5) If an absentee by mail ballot or early voting paper ballot has been challenged, the
members shall not remove the certificate and leave the envelope sealed.
(6) A member of the board shall place the absentee by mail ballots and early voting
paper ballots that have been challenged and the ballots that have not been challenged in the
special, secure absentee by mail and early voting ballot container provided for that purpose
and seal the container. Two members of the board shall execute the first certificate on the
container and date the certificate with the date on which it was executed before the election.
(7) The members of the board shall place the certificates of the absentee by mail
ballots and early voting paper ballots that have not been challenged in the container provided
for that purpose and seal the container. Two of the members shall execute the first certificate
on the container and date the certificate with the date on which it was executed before the
election.
(8) Absentee by mail ballots that are received by the registrar of voters after the
preparation and verification process is completed but before the deadline to return absentee
by mail ballots shall be prepared, verified, counted, and tabulated on election day.
H. The procedure for counting absentee by mail ballots and early voting paper ballots
on election day shall be as follows:
(1) A member of the board shall break the seal on the special, secure absentee by
mail and early voting ballot container and remove the certificates, absentee by mail ballots,
and early voting paper ballots that have been challenged and the absentee by mail ballots and
early voting paper ballots that have not been challenged.
(2) The board shall determine the validity of challenges filed in accordance with R.S.
18:1315(A), (B), and (C).
(3)(a) If the board determines that an absentee by mail ballot is valid, a member of
the board shall make a check mark on the absentee by mail voter report beside the name of
the voter as it appears on the report and write his initials on each page of the report. If
applicable, a member of the board shall remove the certificate and leave the envelope sealed.
(b) If the board determines that a paper ballot voted during early voting is valid, a
member of the board shall write the words "voted early" and his initials on the early voter
report beside the name of the voter as it appears on the report. A member of the board shall
remove the certificate and leave the envelope sealed.
(4) If a majority of the members of the board determine that an absentee by mail
ballot or early voting paper ballot is invalid, the members shall not remove the certificate,
leave the envelope sealed, and a member of the board shall write the word "rejected",
together with the reasons for rejecting the ballot, across the envelope. The member shall also
write the word "rejected" and his initials on the absentee by mail voter report or early voter
report, as applicable, beside the name of the voter as it appears in the report. The rejected
absentee by mail ballots and early voting paper ballots and certificates shall be replaced in
the special, secure absentee by mail and early voting ballot container. No rejected absentee
by mail ballot or early voting paper ballot shall be counted.
(5) After the validity of all absentee by mail ballots and early voting paper ballots
have been determined, the members of the board shall break the seal on the container and
place the valid certificates in the container provided for that purpose and seal the container.
Two of the members shall execute the second certificate on the envelope and date the
certificate the day of the election.
(6) The members shall open the envelopes containing the valid absentee by mail
ballots and early voting paper ballots and remove the ballots.
(7) The board shall, in accordance with the requirements of R.S. 18:1316, reject any
ballot which contains a distinguishing mark or feature making the ballot susceptible of
identification. However, a ballot shall not be rejected as containing a distinguishing mark
if the ballot was transmitted electronically to a member of the United States Service, as
defined in R.S. 18:1302, or a person residing outside the United States.
(8) If a ballot is physically damaged or cannot properly be counted by the counting
equipment and the vote cast by the voter is clearly discernible from a physical inspection of
the defective ballot, the ballot may be counted by hand or a true duplicate may be made of
the defective ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the ballot. Any duplicate
ballot shall be clearly labeled "duplicate", bear a ballot number which shall be recorded on
the defective ballot, and be counted in lieu of the defective ballot. After a ballot has been
duplicated, the defective ballot shall be placed in the special, secure absentee by mail and
early voting ballot container, and the duplicate ballot shall be counted with the other valid
ballots.
(9) The special absentee ballots cast by members of the United States Service or
persons who reside outside of the United States may be counted by hand or counted as a true
duplicate.
I. The procedure for counting early voting machine ballots on election day shall be
as follows:
(1) A member of the board shall remove the early voting machine results reports
from the special, secure absentee by mail and early voting ballot container.
(2) The board shall post the results from each early voting machine results report for
the early voting ballots, unless an early voting ballot has been challenged pursuant to R.S.
18:1309(E)(6) or 1315.
(3) The board shall determine the validity of challenges made in accordance with
R.S. 18:1315(A) and (B).
(4)(a) Prior to utilizing any absentee by mail and early voting counting equipment,
the parish board of election supervisors shall generate a zero tally to ensure that the
equipment's candidate and question counters are set at zero and that no votes have been cast
for any candidate or for or against any proposition.
(b) The board shall sign and certify to the correctness of each zero proof sheet and
place all zero proof sheets in the special, secure absentee by mail and early voting container.
(5) The absentee by mail and early voting votes cast for a candidate and those cast
for and against a proposition shall be counted and the total number of absentee by mail and
early voting votes cast for a candidate and those cast for and against a proposition shall be
entered by the members of the board as the total number of votes on the final absentee by
mail and early voting vote report, and the members of the board shall certify the results. A
copy of the final absentee by mail and early voting vote report shall be posted by a member
of the board after the polls close at the location where the tabulation and counting was
conducted and the office of the registrar of voters.
J. The final absentee by mail and early voting vote report prepared by the parish
board of election supervisors shall be transmitted to the clerk of court immediately upon
completion of the tabulation of the absentee by mail and early voting ballots on election
night. A copy of the record shall be transmitted immediately to the secretary of state, and a
copy of the record shall be placed in the special, secure absentee by mail and early voting
container.
K. When the absentee by mail and early voter reports have been returned to the
registrar of voters, the registrar, based on the information contained in the reports, shall
confirm that the words "voted by mail" or "voted early" are written in the proper space on the
precinct register for each voter who voted early or absentee by mail.
L.(1) Upon completion of the tabulation and counting of the absentee by mail and
early voting ballots on election day, the parish board of election supervisors shall return the
absentee by mail and early voting ballots and electronic results report to the special, secure
absentee by mail and early voting ballot container; shall seal the container; and shall deliver
the container to the registrar of voters. The registrar shall preserve the container and its
contents inviolate and, except upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction or at the
direction of the secretary of state for the purpose of conducting post-election tabulation
audits, shall not allow the absentee by mail and early voting documents to be inspected by
anyone until the delay for filing an action contesting the election has lapsed. If an action
contesting the election is commenced timely, the registrar shall continue to preserve the
container and its contents inviolate, subject to the orders of the court, until the final judgment
in the action has become definitive.
(2)(a)(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, if the
number of absentee by mail and early voting ballots cast for all candidates for an office could
make a difference in the outcome of the election for the office, upon the written request of
a candidate for the office, the board shall recount the absentee by mail ballots by hand or
scanning equipment and early voting ballots electronically, unless paper ballots were used
for early voting and in such case, the ballots shall be recounted by hand for the office. The
registrar shall preserve the container and its contents inviolate and, except upon the board
recounting the absentee by mail ballots, shall not allow the absentee by mail and early voting
ballots to be inspected by anyone until the recounting of the absentee by mail and early
voting ballots by the board.
(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, if the number
of absentee by mail and early voting ballots cast for and against a proposition could make a
difference in the outcome of the election, upon the written request of a person who voted in
the proposition election, the board shall recount the absentee by mail ballots by hand or
scanning equipment and early voting ballots electronically, unless paper ballots were used
for early voting and in such case, the ballots shall be recounted by hand for the election. The
registrar shall preserve the container and its contents inviolate and, except upon the board
recounting the absentee by mail ballots, shall not allow the absentee by mail and early voting
ballots to be inspected by anyone until the recounting of the absentee by mail and early
voting ballots by the board.
(b) All recounts of absentee by mail and early voting ballots shall be held at a time
set by the secretary of state, in conjunction with the registrar of voters and the clerk of court,
or following the reinspection of voting machines on the fifth day after the election and at any
time ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. If the fifth day after the election falls on
a holiday or weekend, such recount shall be held on the next working day at a time set by the
secretary of state, in conjunction with the registrar of voters and the clerk of court, or
following the reinspection of voting machines. Any written request for recount of absentee
by mail and early voting ballots shall be filed with the clerk of court. The deadline for filing
a request for recount of absentee by mail and early voting ballots shall be 4:30 p.m. on the
third calendar day after the election. Immediately upon receiving any request, the clerk of
court shall prominently post in his office a notice of the time and place where the absentee
by mail and early voting ballots will be recounted and the name of the candidate or the voter
in the proposition election requesting the recount.
(c) Upon completion of the recount of the absentee by mail and early voting ballots,
the board shall return the absentee by mail and early voting documents to the special, secure
absentee by mail and early voting ballot container; shall reseal the container; and shall
deliver the container and its contents to the registrar of voters, who shall preserve the
container and its contents in the manner provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
(d)(i) The candidate or the voter in the proposition election requesting the recount
shall be responsible for all reasonable costs associated with such recount, which shall be
payable to the clerk of court. The costs shall be paid at the time the written request for the
recount is filed with the clerk of court and shall be paid in cash or by certified or cashier's
check on a state or national bank or credit union, United States postal money order, or money
order issued by a state or national bank or credit union.
(ii) If the recount changes the outcome of the election, the costs paid by the candidate
or voter in the proposition election shall be refunded by the clerk of court, and the costs of
the recount shall be a reimbursable election expense as provided in Chapter 8-A of this Title.
(3) A candidate or his representative, in the presence of a majority of the parish
board of election supervisors, shall be allowed to inspect the certificates removed from the
valid absentee by mail ballots and from the valid early voting ballots. All such inspections
shall be held at a time set by the secretary of state, in conjunction with the registrar of voters
and the clerk of court, or following the recount of absentee by mail and early voting ballots
on the fifth day after the election and at any time ordered by a court of competent
jurisdiction. If the fifth day after the election falls on a holiday or weekend, the inspection
shall be held on the next working day at a time set by the secretary of state, in conjunction
with the registrar of voters and the clerk of court, or following the recount of absentee by
mail and early voting ballots. Any written request for inspection shall be filed with the clerk
of court. The deadline for filing a request for inspection shall be 4:30 p.m. on the third
calendar day after the election. Immediately upon receiving any request, the clerk of court
shall prominently post in his office a notice of the time and place where the inspection will
occur and the name of the candidate requesting the inspection. The candidate requesting the
inspection shall be responsible for all reasonable costs associated with the inspection, which
shall be payable to the clerk of court. The costs shall be paid at the time the written request
for the inspection is filed with the clerk of court and shall be paid in cash or by certified or
cashier's check on a state or national bank or credit union, United States postal money order,
or money order issued by a state or national bank or credit union.
(4) The parish board of election supervisors shall be entitled to reimbursement at the
rate established in R.S. 18:423(E) for attending the recount of absentee by mail and early
voting ballots and inspection, but not both if they are conducted on the same day. However,
such reimbursement shall not be counted toward the limitation provided in R.S. 18:423(J).
No member of the parish board of election supervisors shall be reimbursed for attending a
recount of absentee by mail an early voting ballots or inspection if such member received
reimbursement for attending the reinspection of voting machines which was conducted on
the same day as the recount of the absentee by mail and early voting ballots or inspection.

Legislative History

Acts 2020, No. 354, §1, eff. June 12, 2020; Acts 2021, No. 381, §1, eff. June 17, 2021; Acts 2021, No. 423, §1; Acts 2022, No. 274, §1, eff. June 3, 2022; Acts 2023, No. 91, §1, eff. June 6, 2023; Acts 2024, No. 321, §1; Acts 2024, No. 754, §1; Acts 2025, No. 386, §1.