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Louisiana elections, 2013
Louisiana election information for 2013 is listed below.
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Exceptions included special elections. Find current election news and links here. | ||||
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| Click here for all November 5, 2013 Election Results | ||||
2013 elections
The state of Louisiana held special elections in 2013.
Special elections
Elections by type
Congressional
U.S. House of Representatives
- The 5th Congressional District of Louisiana held a special election for the U.S. House in 2013. The primary election was held on October 19, 2013, with a general election held November 16, 2013,. Vance McAllister defeated Neil Riser in the general election.[1][2]
- The special election was held to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Rep. Rodney Alexander (R).[3] Gov. Bobby Jindal announced on August 7, 2013, that Alexander became the next Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs in September 2013.[3] Alexander's resignation was effective September 26, 2013.[3]
- Jindal announced the date of the election on August 8, 2013.[4] The governor has complete discretion on the timing of a special election as long as the date allows for overseas military ballots to be distributed.[4]
State House
State House District 87
- Rep. Girod Jackson, III (D) resigned on August 22, 2013, after being charged with tax fraud and failing to file taxes. A special primary election was called for November 16, with a general election on December 14 if necessary. Candidates had from October 2 to October 4 to file certified nomination papers.[5]
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 primary election to be held for the seat on March 2, 2013, with a general election, if necessary on April 6, 2013. Candidates had until January 11 to file. Barry Ivey (R) defeated Scott Wilson (R) in the special election.[6][7]
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 resigned to become executive director and chief legal counsel for the Jefferson Business Council. Speaker of the House Chuck Kleckley (R) called for a special primary election to be held for the seat on March 2, 2013, with a general 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.[8][9]
Voting in Louisiana
- See also: Voting in Louisiana
Important voting information
Louisiana does not conduct true primary elections. Instead, the state employs a majority-vote system. If a candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for an office, they win outright. If, however, no candidate reaches that threshold, a second round of voting is held between the top two vote-getters. Any registered voter can participate in both the first-round and second-round elections. Louisiana's election system is sometimes classified as a top-two, jungle, or blanket primary system. Ballotpedia refers to the state's election system as the Louisiana majority-vote system.[10][11]
Beginning in 2026, Louisiana will use a semi-closed primary for congress, justice of the supreme court, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Public Service Commission. In these primaries, only unaffiliated voters and voters registered with a party may vote in that party's primary. For all other statewide offices—including state senator and representative—Louisiana will continue to use the majority-vote system.[10][11]
- Registration must be completed at least 30 days prior to election day.
- Louisiana has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Voting absentee
- See also: Absentee voting by state
For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Louisiana, please visit our absentee voting by state page.
Voting early
- See also: Early voting
Louisiana is one of 33 states (plus the District of Columbia) that permit some form of early voting. Early voting begins 14 days before an election and ends seven days prior to Election Day.[12]
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 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Louisiana received an overall score of 70 percent.[13]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Upcoming elections," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ The News Star, "Special election set Oct. 19; qualifying this month," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Nola.com, "Rodney Alexander to join Jindal administration, departure from Congress will trigger special election," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Roll Call, "Candidates Line Up for New Special Election | The Field #LA05," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ nola.com, "Jefferson Parish special election to replace ex-Rep. Girod Jackson set Nov. 16," August 30, 2013
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Louisiana State Legislature, "La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:410.3," accessed November 12, 2025
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Louisiana State Legislature, "La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:401," accessed November 12, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State Website, "Early Voting, In Person," accessed December 19, 2013
- ↑ Pew Charitable Trusts, "Election Performance Index Report," accessed April 23, 2014
