BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Early voting has started for the May 16 election in Louisiana.
The early voting period will run from Saturday, May 2, through Saturday, May 9, except for Sunday. The polls are open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
Voters will decide on multiple races across the state, including local races and local propositions in many parishes. Every voter in Louisiana will decide on constitutional amendments.
U.S. House race halted
People will not cast a vote for the U.S. House race. It was halted by Gov. Jeff Landry after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, calling it an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
When arriving to vote early, voters will need a driver’s license or another picture ID that includes their legal name and signature. Voters can also bring a sample ballot from the Geaux Vote app.
Closed primary system in effect
During the May 16 election, votes will be cast in a closed primary system, meaning Republican and Democratic voters will get ballots specific to a party.
Voters with no party affiliation will get to pick whether they want to participate in either the Republican or Democratic primary or neither of the primaries. Voters will get to choose during the early voting period or on election day.
People registered with a third party like the Green Party or Libertarian Party will not be allowed to participate in the Republican or Democratic primaries. However, the voters will be allowed to cast a ballot for constitutional amendments, propositions, and certain other eligible races.
All voters will be allowed to cast a ballot for candidates of any political party during the November general election.
Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.
Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
Copyright 2026 WAFB. All rights reserved.