Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.
Louisiana elections, 2013
Contents |
| On the 2013 ballot |
|---|
Exceptions include special elections. Find current election news and links here. |
2013 elections
Special elections
State House District 65
- Clif Richardson (R) announced in November 2012 that he would resign his District 65 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives effective January 2, 2013. Richardson said he was resigning due to health issues. Speaker of the House Chuck Kleckley (R) called for a special election to be held for the seat on March 2, 2013, with a runoff, if necessary on April 6, 2013. Candidates had until January 11 to file. Barry Ivey (R) defeated Scott Wilson (R) in the special election.[1][2]
- Related: See election results here.
- See also: Louisiana state legislative special elections, 2013.
State House District 79
- Anthony Ligi (R) announced on December 14, 2012 that he would resign his District 79 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives effective January 1, 2013. Ligi is resigning to become executive director and chief legal counsel for the Jefferson Business Council. Speaker of the House Chuck Kleckley (R) called for a special elected to be held for the seat on March 2, 2013, with a runoff election, if necessary, on April 6, 2013. Candidates had until January 11 to file. Julie Stokes (R) defeated three other Republicans in the special election.[3][4]
- Related: See election results here.
- See also: Louisiana state legislative special elections, 2013.
Voting absentee
- See also: Absentee Voting
Eligibility
You are eligible to vote absentee in an election if you cannot make it to the polls on election day for one of the following reasons:
- you are in the military, the dependent of military personell, or an overseas citizen;
- you are 65 years of age or older;
- you are at home or a nursing or veterans' home resident and you have been previously approved for the Disability Program, or you are disabled, homebound or a nursing or veterans' home resident. You must submit one of three kinds of current proof of disability with your application:
- a copy of a mobility impaired identification card issued by the Office of Motor Vehicles;
- a copy of social security disability benefits, veteran’s disability benefits, paratransit services, benefits from the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, or benefits from Louisiana Rehabilitation Services; or
- a physician’s letter certifying your disability (this is required for a new homebound or nursing home application).
- you are a student, instructor, or professor located and living outside of your parish of registration, or the spouse/dependent thereof (if you are a student voting for the first time, you must include a copy of your student ID);
- you are a minister, priest, rabbi, or other member of the clergy assigned outside of your parish of registration, or the spouse/dependent thereof;
- you are or expect to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from your parish of registration during the early voting period and on election day (if you request a ballot to be mailed to an address within the parish, you must indicate the dates you will be temporarily absent from the state/parish);
- you moved your residence to another parish more than 100 miles from the parish seat of your former residence after the voter registration books closed (30 days prior to the election);
- you are involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside your parish of registration and you are not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent;
- you expect to be hospitalized on election day and you did not have knowledge until after the time for early voting had expired; or you were hospitalized during the time for early voting and you expect to be hospitalized on election day; or you were either hospitalized or restricted to bed by your physician during early voting and on election day;
- you expect to be out of your precinct of registration and upon the waters of the state both during the early voting period and on election day because of your employment or occupation;
- you are incarcerated in an institution inside or outside of your parish of registration and you are not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony (you must attach a certification of the sheriff with your application);
- you are a program participant in the Department of State Address Confidentiality Program; or
- you will be sequestered on the day of the election (you must attach a certified copy of the court order of sequestration with your application).
Deadlines
To vote absentee a request must be received no earlier than 60 days prior to the election and no later than 4 days prior. The ballot must then be returned by 4:30pm on the day before the election.
Military and overseas voting
For full details, visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program here.
Voting early
- See also: Early voting
Louisiana is one of 33 states that has early voting with no specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 14 days before an election and ends 7 days prior to election day. The average number of days prior to an election that voters can cast an early ballot is 21 days in states with a definitive starting date.
Elections Performance Index
Louisiana ranked 10th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2010 elections. The EPI examines election administration performance assigning an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. The indicators were chosen within the framework of determining the convenience and integrity of each of the three administrative phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Louisiana received an overall score of 70%.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ Post South, "Speaker calls special election due to resignation of Representative Richardson," November 19, 2012
- ↑ Nola.com, "Baton Rouge businessman Barry Ivey wins special House election," March 2, 2013
- ↑ Post South, "Speaker calls special election due to resignation of Representative Richardson," November 19, 2012
- ↑ WWLTV, "Voters send Julie Stokes to state House in Dist. 79 special election," March 2, 2013
- ↑ Pew Charitable Trusts, Election Performance Index Report
