VOTE-BY-MAIL
WHAT IS VOTE-BY-MAIL?
Vote-by-mail (VBM), also known as absentee voting, is a method of voting in which an official ballot is mailed to your home (either by request or, in some states, automatically). You then fill out your ballot at home and simply send it back to the registrar of voters through mail, fax, or hand delivery.
CURRENT LOUISIANA LAW
In Louisiana, you must have a specific reason to be eligible to vote by mail, unless you are a military or overseas voter. This means that you may only request a mail ballot if you have a valid excuse for not being able to vote at your polling place on Election Day. There is a short list of accepted excuses that qualify eligible voters to vote by mail, which can be found here on the Secretary of State's website. Louisiana is one of a small and shortening list of states that require an excuse to request an absentee ballot.
If you do qualify to vote by mail, you must request a ballot, have it sent to your address, and pay for postage to return your ballot to the Registrar of Voters through the postal service.
THE GOAL
Vote By Mail Louisiana is urging the state of Louisiana to implement an unrestricted vote-by-mail system that would allow all Louisiana voters to request a mail ballot without a specified excuse. After all, unrestricted mail voting is the norm in most states, and there is no reason to suppose that Louisiana is unable to emulate the success that these states have had with mail voting. Furthermore, we believe that voting by mail should pose no cost to those who request a ballot, seeing this as essential to removing unnecessary barriers to voting. Considering the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the upcoming election season, we urge the our Louisiana elected officials to act expeditiously and in the interest of the public’s health and safety.
VBM STATE BY STATE
ALL-MAIL ELECTIONS
UNRESTRICTED VBM
*All mail for COVID-19 only
Alaska
Colorado
Hawaii*
Oregon
Washington
Arizona
California
D.C.
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
Wisconsin
Wyoming
COVID CHANGES
RESTRICTED VBM
*All voters eligible for absentee due to pandemic
Alabama*
Arkansas*
Connecticut*
Deleware*
Indiana*
Massachusetts*
Tennessee*
Virginia*
West Virginia*
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
New Hampshire
New York
South Carolina
Texas