Provisional Voting

PROVISIONAL VOTING

Provisional voting provides a fail safe procedure for voting in federal elections when a person appears to vote and is not listed as an eligible voter. A provisional voter must certify in writing on the ballot that he is a registered voter in the parish and is eligible to vote in the election for federal office before voting.

Provisional voting is not convenience voting, whereby a voter may appear anywhere in the state and vote and have his vote count.

A PERSON MUST BE A REGISTERED VOTER IN THE PARISH WHERE HE VOTES AND ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IN THE ELECTION FOR FEDERAL OFFICE FOR HIS PROVISIONAL BALLOT TO BE COUNTED. THEREFORE, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU VOTE IN THE PRECINCT AND PARISH WHERE YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE.

If you are in the parish where you are registered to vote and you are voting at the wrong precinct, you may vote a paper provisional ballot for federal offices only after certifying in writing on the ballot that you are eligible to vote. You will not be permitted to vote on the voting machine for state, local, or municipal offices; propositions; or constitutional amendments.

If you are in a precinct that is not in the parish where you are registered to vote, you may vote a paper provisional ballot for federal offices only after certifying in writing on the ballot that you are eligible to vote. You will not be permitted to vote on the voting machine for state, local, or municipal offices; propositions; or constitutional amendments.

If you are not registered to vote in Louisiana, and you enter a precinct to vote, you may vote a paper provisional ballot for federal offices only after certifying in writing on the ballot that you are eligible to vote. You will not be permitted to vote on the voting machine for state, local, or municipal offices; propositions; or constitutional amendments.

IF YOU CAST A PAPER PROVISIONAL BALLOT FOR FEDERAL OFFICES ONLY, YOUR PROVISIONAL BALLOT MAY OR MAY NOT BE COUNTED.

A PERSON MUST BE A REGISTERED VOTER IN THE PARISH WHERE HE VOTES AND ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IN THE ELECTION FOR FEDERAL OFFICE FOR HIS PROVISIONAL BALLOT TO BE COUNTED. (When you cast a provisional ballot for a U.S. representative, you must be a registered voter in that congressional district.)

About the Law

On Oct. 29, 2002, the "Help America Vote Act of 2002," (HAVA), Pub. L. No. 107-252, 116 Stat. 1666 (2002), 42 U.S.C. 15301 was signed into law. The legislation aims to improve the administration of elections in the United States, and part of the law deals with "provisional voting." Legislation was passed in the 2003 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature to place Louisiana in compliance with the provisional voting requirements of HAVA. Act 423 of 2003 Regular Legislative Session implements provisional voting in Louisiana only in elections for federal office.

Provisional Ballot Status

Any voter who casts a provisional ballot in a recent election and wants to know if it was counted should click here to access the Provisional Voter Search screen. Voters should wait at least seven days after an election to determine the status of their provisional ballot. For federal elections prior to 2010 or if you cannot find your name in the Provisional Voter Search application, contact the Secretary of State Elections Division at 800.883.2805. When calling, please have available the provisional ballot number provided at the polling place.

Provisional Ballot Statistics