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Primary elections in Louisiana
 in Louisiana |
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Louisiana conducts a unique form of primary elections. The state employs a majority-vote system.[1] If a candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for an office, he or she wins 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. For more information on Louisiana's majority-vote system see here.
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 the party may vote in a party's primary. For all other statewide offices—including state senator and representative—Louisiana will continue to use the majority-vote system.
See the sections below for general information on the use of primary elections in the United States and specific information on the types of elections held in Louisiana:
- BackgroundThe different types of primary election participation models used in the United States, and details about methods to determine the outcomes of primaries.
- Primary election systems used in LouisianaPrimary election systems used in Louisiana, including primaries for congressional and state-level offices.
- State legislation and ballot measuresState legislation and ballot measures relevant to primary election policy in Louisiana.
Background
In general, there are two broad criteria by which primary elections can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction:
1. Rules of participation: In jurisdictions that conduct partisan primaries, who can vote in a party's primary? Is participation limited to registered party members, or can other eligible voters (such as unaffiliated voters or voters belonging to other parties) participate? In general, there are three basic types of primary election participation models: open primaries, closed primaries, and semi-closed primaries. Several states also use a top-two primary or a variant of that system.
- In closed primaries only registered party members are allowed to vote.
- In semi-closed primaries, registered party members and unaffiliated voters are allowed to vote.
- In open primaries, all voters are allowed to vote.
- In top-two primaries, top-four primaries, and blanket primaries, all candidates are listed on the same ballot, regardless of partisan affiliation and voters may vote for candidates from more than one party.
2. Vote requirements: What share of the total votes cast does a candidate have to receive in order to advance to the general election? Methods for determining primary election outcomes include plurality voting systems ans majority voting systems. Two states, California and Washington, use top-two primaries, while one, Alaska, uses a top-four primary. Both are plurality systems. Maine use ranked-choice voting for some primaries, which is a majority system.
Election systems used in Louisiana
- See also: Louisiana majority-vote system
Congressional and state-level elections
In 23 states, at least one political party utilizes closed primaries to nominate partisan candidates for congressional and state-level (e.g. state legislators, governors, etc.) offices. In 19 states, at least one party utilizes open primaries to nominate partisan candidates for these offices. In 12 states, at least one party utilizes semi-closed primaries. In 5 states, top-two primaries or a variation are used.[2] These state primaries are a separate entity and are not included in the totals for open, closed, or semi-closed primaries.
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, he or she wins 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.[3][4]
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.[3][4]
Louisiana's majority-vote 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.[5]
State legislation and ballot measures
The table below lists bills related to primary elections that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Louisiana. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official bill name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Sponsor party
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
Primary systems ballot measures
Since 2017, Ballotpedia has tracked no ballot measures relating to primary elections in Louisiana.
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana does conduct preference primaries in presidential election years.
- ↑ Top-two primary systems, such as those utilized in California, Nebraska, and Washington, and variations of those systems, such as the top-four system used in Alaska and the majority-vote system used in Louisiana, are sometimes classified as open primary systems because voter participation in such primaries is not tied to partisan affiliation. For the purposes of this article, these primaries are considered to be a separate entity. For more information about top-two primaries and their variations, see this article.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Louisiana State Legislature, "La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:410.3," accessed September 3, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Louisiana State Legislature, "La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:401," accessed September 3, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Review Types of Elections," accessed September 12, 2025
