Louisiana elections, 2015

2016 → ← 2014 The state of Louisiana held elections in 2015. Below are the dates of note: 2015 elections and events in Louisiana. Voter registration deadline for primary election September 23, 2015 Early voting begins for primary election October 10, 2015 Early voting ends for primary election October 17, 2015 Deadline to request mail-in ballot for primary election October 20, 2015 Voter registration deadline for general election October 21, 2015 Primary election mail-in ballots must be received by registrar October 23, 2015 Primary election October 24, 2015 Early voting begins for general election November 7, 2015 Early voting ends November 14, 2015 Deadline to request mail-in ballot for general election November 17, 2015 General election Mail-in ballots must be received by registrar November 20, 2015 General election November 21, 2015 Races to watch State executives Gubernatorial election See also Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015 Incumbent Bobby Jindal (R) was unable to run due to term limits, leaving the governor's office open to a crowded field. The field of candidates included former Sen. David Vitter (R), Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle (R), Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne (R) and U.S. Rep. John Edwards (D). The past two gubernatorial races have been blowout wins for Jindal, but the field of announced and potential candidates was stronger than in years past. No candidate won a majority of the votes in the primary election. Therefore, the top two vote-getters, Vitter (R) and Edwards (D), ran against each other in a two-candidate general election on November 21. Edwards defeated Vitter and succeeded Governor Jindal in January 2016. School boards St. Tammany Parish Public Schools See also: St. Tammany Parish Public Schools special elections (2015) Two seats on the St. Tammany Parish Public Schools School Board were up for special election on March 28, 2015, and October 24, 2015. Both elections were held to fill vacancies on the board created by deaths of sitting board members. The District 14 seat was up for election on March 28, 2015, following the death of incumbent Ray Anthony Alfred (D) on September 17, 2014. Only two candidates filed to run in the special election for District 14: Dennis "Coach" Cousin (D) and John Murchison (I). The District 12 seat was up for election on October 24, 2015, following the death of incumbent James "Ronnie" Panks Sr. (R) on January 14, 2015. Richard Hursey was appointed on February 2, 2015, by the remaining board members to fill the vacancy created by Panks' death until the special election was held. The Republican school board majority was not lost in these special elections. The new board members joined the board's 11 Republicans and two Democrats in determining how to handle the possibility of large numbers of students opting-out of standardized testing based on Common Core standards. Elections by type State executive See also Louisiana state executive official elections, 2015 State legislative See also Louisiana State Senate elections, 2015 and Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2015 School boards See also: School board elections, 2015 and Louisiana school board elections, 2015 There were no Louisiana school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment holding regular general elections in 2015. However, three districts held special elections for a total of four seats, one up for primary election in March and three in October. Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation. For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. Here are several quick facts about Louisiana's school board elections in 2015: The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2015 was St. Tammany Parish Public Schools with 37,513 K-12 students. The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2015 was Orleans Parish School Board with 13,707 K-12 students. St. Tammany Parish Public Schools had the most seats on the ballot in 2015 with two seats up for special election. Orleans Parish School Board and Tangipahoa Parish School System tied for the fewest seats on the ballot in 2015 with one seat up for special election each. The districts served a total of 71,054 K-12 students during the 2012-2013 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Click on the district name for more information on the district and its school board elections. 2015 Louisiana School Board Elections District Date Seats up for election Total board seats Student enrollment St. Tammany Parish Public Schools: District 12 3/28/2015 1 15 37,513 Orleans Parish School Board: District 1 10/24/2015 1 7 13,707 St. Tammany Parish Public Schools: District 14 10/24/2015 1 15 37,513 Tangipahoa Parish School System: District G 10/24/2015 1 9 19,834 Judicial elections See also Louisiana judicial elections, 2015 Local ballot measures See also Local ballot measures, Louisiana Voting information Links related to voting in Louisiana: For an overview and information on deadlines and updates to voting laws, please visit voting in Louisiana. For information on ballot access and signature requirements, please visit our page on ballot access requirements for political candidates in Louisiana. For information about absentee eligibility and military and overseas voting, please visit our absentee voting by state page. For information on early voting (if applicable), please visit our page on early voting by state. For information on online voter registration (if applicable), please visit our page on online voter registration in the 50 states. Primary 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. 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. Historical voter turnout 2014 In 2014, Louisiana saw 43.8 percent of eligible voters vote for the highest office on the ballot in the November general election. 2012 In 2012, Louisiana saw 60.8 percent of eligible voters turn out to vote in the November general election and 10.2 percent in the primary election. See also Elections portal Elections and events calendar Voter guides State Blue Books State Poll Opening and Closing Times State Election Result Canvassing State voter ID laws Voting in Louisiana Absentee voting Early voting Online voter registration Election terms and definitions Recent news This section links to a Google news search for the term "Louisiana + elections + 2015" Louisiana elections news feed Footnotes