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You may apply for voter registration by completing a Louisiana Voter Registration Application form online through the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office at any Registrar of Voters office, or by mailing a voter registration application. In addition, if you are seeking services at designated mandated sites, voter registration may be offered to you. Below is a list of mandated sites.
Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicle offices
Louisiana Department of Social Services offices, WIC offices, Food Stamp offices, and Medicaid offices
Offices serving persons with disabilities, such as the Deaf Action Centers and Independent Living offices
Armed Forces Recruitment offices
Form Completion
To register by mail, download the Louisiana Voter Registration Application form and then return a completed form to your local Registrar of Voters office. Please note that the list of Registrar Offices is included on the form. You may also get the mailing address from this list of Registrar of Voters offices. Louisiana statutes require you to be registered 30 days prior to an election to be eligible to vote in that particular election.
Faxed Voter Registration forms are not accepted. The Voter Registration form should be addressed and mailed or hand-delivered to the appropriate Registrar of Voters in the parish in which you are registering. DO NOT mail or otherwise send Voter Registration forms to the Secretary of State Elections Division office – deadlines requiring receipt in the registrar’s office may be missed.
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Louisiana law requires a picture identification card to vote at the polling place. This can include a Louisiana driver’s license, a Louisiana Special ID card, or other generally recognized picture identification card. If you do not have a picture ID card, you may sign an affidavit which will be attached to the precinct register, and you will be required to provide further identification as requested by the Commissioner at the polling place.
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Louisiana statutes require you to be registered 30 days prior to an election to be eligible to vote in that particular election.
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In some cases, your registration can be transferred, but it is best to register every time you move to a new parish in Louisiana.
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Democratic, Green, Independent, Libertarian, and Republican.
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Your party affiliation can be changed by simply sending your Registrar of Voters a written note requesting your party change (including signature), or by completing another application. Please note: if you are changing your party right before an election, it must be done 30 days prior to an election. Party changes received after book closing for an election cannot be in effect until the next election.
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Each parish has a Clerk of Court and a Registrar of Voters. It is the duty of the Registrar of Voters to maintain voting machines and to register voters. It is the duty of the Clerk of Court to manage the voting process.
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Your ballot will be locked away until election day when it will be opened for counting. However, your ballot will not be counted if any directions were not followed completely, such as, signatures in appropriate place, witness signatures, too many marks on the ballot, or the ballot arriving after the deadline. Please examine the ballot and all instructions closely before returning to ensure completeness.
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Yes.
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Your ballot can be voted immediately and returned to the office of the Registrar at any time prior to the deadline. It will not be counted until election day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Register to Vote
REGISTER TO VOTE:
You can register to vote in person at the Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters office or pick up a voter registration application at a Shreve Memorial Library location in Caddo Parish and mail it to the Registrar’s office. If you prefer, you can also register online by clicking here and using your driver’s license.
Forms must be received at the office or postmarked by the specified deadline date. Voter registration forms can NOT be faxed in Louisiana.
MOTOR VOTER REGISTRATION– You can register to vote at a Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles location when conducting business at the office. You can also register to vote at social service agencies, military recruitment offices and other governmental locations. Numerous websites offer voter registration services but please be careful to select a website that does not charge for the service.
VOTER REGISTRATION VERIFICATION– Under provisions of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), all voter registration applications must be verified through a central computer for Louisiana driver’s license information and the Social Security Administration. State law requires that if you have a driver’s license you MUST provide the driver’s license number on your voter registration form. Also, you are requested to provide the last four digits of your social security number. This information is kept confidential and only used to provide verification of your identity and prevent voter registration fraud. If you receive a written request for information from the Registrar’s office, please take it seriously and contact our office immediately or your application to vote could be rejected.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS INFORMATION– Maintaining your correct and current address with the Registrar of Voters office is your responsibility. You must contact us separately from the post office when you change your address or name. While this cannot be done over the phone, you can call for information and forms that can be mailed to you. Call 318.226.6891 for further information.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Voter Eligibility
Voter Registration Deadlines
Louisiana statutes require you to be registered 30 days prior to an election to be eligible to vote in that particular election. You can register in person at your parish Registrar of Voters office, or you can submit an application by mail to your Registrar of Voters office. If you are seeking services at a mandated registration site, voter registration may be offered to you. For example, a person can register to vote when renewing a driver’s license. Mandated sites include:
Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicle offices.
Louisiana Department of Social Services offices and WIC offices, Food Stamp offices, and Medicaid offices.
Offices serving persons with disabilities, such as the Deaf Action Centers and Independent Living offices.
Armed Forces Recruitment offices.
Early Voting
Voters who want to vote early for any election may do so in person at local Registrar of Voters offices from 14 days to seven days prior to any scheduled election from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Voting Hours
The polls open at 7 a.m. for Saturday elections and close at 8 p.m. The polls open at 6 a.m. for Tuesday elections and close at 8 p.m. Voters in line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
A Reminder to Voters – Take Picture ID to Polls
When you go to the polls to cast your vote in an election, be sure to take a driver’s license, a Louisiana Special ID, or some other generally recognized picture ID. Voters who have no picture ID and bring only a utility bill, payroll check or government document that includes their name and address will have to sign an affidavit furnished by the Elections Division in order to vote. Should any problems or questions arise, the principal office of the Registrar of Voters in each parish will be open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. on election day.
Handicapped Access Information
This information is provided as a guide for the election officials who are directly involved in the Special Program for Physically Handicapped Voters, for the individuals who wish to participate in the program, and for any other individual who may have an interest in the law. The special program was established by Acts 500 of 1983 to enable certain physically handicapped voters the opportunity to participate in the electoral process. It will enable these voters to vote absentee by mail or in person at nursing homes if they meet the requirements set forth in the Louisiana Election Code.
Voting Absentee by Mail
Military and Overseas Citizens (UOCAVA Voters,) please call us to request an absentee by mail ballot and learn about election deadlines.
Who may request an absentee by mail ballot?
The following persons may request an absentee by mail ballot and must indicate the reason he/she is not able to vote in person, either during early voting or on election day:
members of the United States Armed Service or a spouse or dependent;
students, instructors, or professors in an institution of higher learning located outside of their parish of registration, and live outside of their parish, or spouses or dependents accompanying and residing therewith;
ministers, priests, rabbis, or other members of the clergy assigned to a religious post outside of their parish of registration, or spouses or dependents accompanying and residing therewith;
those who are or expect to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or outside of their parish of registration during the early voting period and on election day;
those who have moved their residences to another parish more than 100 miles from the parish seat of their former residence after voter registration books closed;
those who are involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside of their registration parish and who are not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent;
those who are residing outside the United States;
those who expect to be hospitalized on election day and either were hospitalized or expect to be hospitalized during the early voting period, or did not learn that they would be hospitalized until after the early voting period expired, or were hospitalized and released but restricted to bed by their physician during the early voting period and on election day;
those who expect to be out of their precinct upon the waters of the state both during the early voting period and on election day because of their employment or occupation (e.g., working offshore);
those who are approved for the Special Handicap Program and are living at home, not in a nursing home;
those who are incarcerated in an institution inside or outside their parish of registration and are not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony;
those who are 65 years of age or older; or
those who have a mobility impaired identification card issued by the office of motor vehicles (include a copy of mobility impaired i.d. card with your application).
To complete an absentee by mail request online, click here. Select “Request Absentee Ballot” (column on the right, second link.) Use your Caddo Parish residence as your “Residential Address.”
To print and submit an absentee by mail request, click here. Use your Caddo Parish residence as your “Residential Address.” Fax your application to 318-226-6969. Mail your application to Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters, P.O. Box 1253, Shreveport, LA 71163-1253.
To check the status of your absentee by mail ballot, click here. Enter your information and then select “Check Absentee Ballot Status” (column on the right, second link from the bottom.)
Cancel Voter Registration
If you have moved out of state or no longer wish to be a registered voter in Louisiana, you may cancel your voter registration at any time.
To cancel your voter registration in Louisiana, click here for the Cancel Voter Registration Form. Type your information into the form, print it, and sign it. Or print the form, fill in your information, and sign it. Mail your Cancel Voter Registration Form to Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters, P.O. Box 1253, Shreveport, LA 71163-1253. Fax your Cancel Voter Registration Form to 318-629-1204.