Learn how candidates are elected in Louisiana in the open primary system.
Learn how political party candidates are elected in Louisiana.
Learn how closed party primary candidates are elected in Louisiana.
Learn how candidates for presidential nominee in the Presidential Preference Primary are elected in Louisiana.
Learn how candidates for Presidential Elector for President and Vice President of the United States are elected.
Learn how candidates are certified to office in Louisiana.
Open Primary Elections are Majority Vote Elections
Most candidates in Louisiana are elected by majority vote in an open primary (jungle primary) system. A majority vote is one more than 50% of the total votes cast for that office. When one candidate is to be elected, a candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast for an office in a primary election is elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Example: If Candidate A received 3,617 votes and the number of votes for Candidate B (892), Candidate C (996) and Candidate D (747) = 2,635 then Candidate A has received a majority vote.
If the number of candidates receiving the highest tie vote exceeds the number of persons to be elected, they all advance to the general election.
State, Local, and Congressional General Elections are Plurality Vote Elections
Except for candidates for a party primary office, the candidates who qualify for each office remaining to be filled in a general election are those who received the two highest votes, four highest votes, etc... until the maximum number of candidates for each office is reached, except in the case of a tie vote.
The candidate who receives the most votes cast for an office in a general election is elected. If two or more offices are to be filled, those candidates receiving the highest total of votes are elected to the number of offices to be filled. If there is a tie vote among more candidates than offices to be filled, all candidates who received the highest number of tie votes advance to another election to be held on the 3rd Saturday after the promulgation of the election results.
Any votes received by an unopposed, disqualified or deceased candidate shall be void and not counted for any purpose whatsoever. See exceptions for candidates in closed party elections.
Two or More To Be Elected
If there are two or more offices of the same character to be filled, the number of votes necessary to constitute a majority shall be the greater result obtained by:
- dividing the total votes cast for all of the candidates by the number of offices to be filled; and
- dividing the result so obtained by two and then adding one.
The total votes cast divided by the number of offices = result, then the result is divided by two + one = the number of votes needed for majority.
Example: If an election race is "Elect Three" and there were 1,040 total votes cast, the total votes are divided by three for the offices to be filled, which is 346.6. The resulting 346.6 is then divided by two to give the minimum threshold needed to win with a majority vote, which is 173.3, plus one, which is 174.3. A candidate needs at least 174 votes to win one of the three offices to be filled. If there are more than three candidates that meet the 174 majority vote threshold, then the three candidates with the most votes will be elected.
If there are remaining offices to be filled due to a lack of a majority in the primary election, the number of candidates who qualify for the general election is twice the number of offices remaining to be filled.
Example: If only one candidate receives the majority vote requirement of 174 in the above example, then the highest four vote getters (twice the number of offices remaining to be filled) advance to the general election.
If the number of candidates who qualify for an office does not exceed the number of persons to be elected at the close of qualifying, or those remaining after the withdrawal of candidates before the election does not exceed the number of persons to be elected, they are declared elected as unopposed candidates and their name shall not appear on the ballot.
Certification of Candidates
Elected candidates in a regularly scheduled election are certified by the secretary of state within 30 days of the general election.
Elected candidates in a special election due to a vacancy of an unexpired term are certified by the secretary of state promptly. For more information on oaths of office visit the Commissions Division.
Closed Party Primary Candidates are Elected by Majority Vote
Candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative, Supreme Court Justice, Public Service Commissioner (PSC), and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Member (BESE) are elected under a closed party primary system beginning in the Spring of each election year.
Only political parties recognized pursuant to R.S. 18:441(C) may have party primary elections for party primary offices. The Democratic and Republican parties are the only two parties that currently meet this criteria.
Voters who are registered as Democrat or Republican can only participate in their party's primary. Voters who are not affiliated with any party (No Party) can choose to participate in the Democratic or Republican party primaries, but not both. If a voter is registered as affiliated with any other party, they cannot participate in closed party primaries.
Click here to find out more information about candidates who are not affiliated with the Democratic or Republican parties who choose to run in the general election.
The candidate who receives the majority of votes in the party primary qualifies for the general election as the party's nominee for the office. All candidate nominations for a party primary office by recognized political parties for the general election shall be made in this manner.
In the event that no candidate receives the majority of votes in the first party primary, the two candidates who received the greatest number of votes in the first party primary shall be voted on in a second party primary.
In the case of a tie vote for first place in the first party primary of a recognized political party, all candidates affiliated with the same political party who received the same highest number of votes qualify for a second party primary.
If the first place candidate does not receive a majority of votes and there is a tie for second place in the first party primary of a recognized political party, the candidate who received the highest number of votes and all of the candidates who received the same second highest number of votes qualify for a second party primary.
If a candidate receiving the highest number of votes in the first party primary withdraws his candidacy, dies, or is otherwise disqualified, thereby leaving only one candidate in that political party's first party primary, the remaining candidate shall be declared the nominee of the party.
There shall be no third party primary. In the case of a tie vote in the second party primary of a recognized political party, none of the candidates qualify as the party nominee for the general election and the party nominee shall be selected by a public drawing of lots conducted by the State Board of Election Supervisors from among the candidates who received the highest number of votes in the second party primary election. The public drawing of losts shall be conducted at the state capitol on a day and time fixed by the board within one week after the results of the election become official.
If as the result of the death of a candidate in a party primary election a recognized political party has no party nominee qualified for the general election, the recognized political party shall select, in the manner provided in its bylaws, the party nominee who shall meet all of the qualifications for the party primary office.
The chairman of the state central committee of the recognized political party shall transmit an attestation to the secretary of state containing the name of the party nominee, the signature of the chairman of the state central committee, the signature of the party nominee, and any other information required by the form of the attestation prescribed by the secretary of state. The attestation shall be filed as soon as possible after the death of the party's candidate, but no later than noon on the seventh day prior to the general election day.
If the attestation is received no later than 4:30 p.m. on the seventh day after the close of the qualifying period for nonparty primary offices for the fall primary election, the secretary of state shall print the name of the selected party nominee on the ballot. If the attestation is filed in accordance with this Paragraph, but the name of the selected party nominee is not placed on the ballot, there shall be a notice regarding the selected party nominee posted at each polling place and on the website of the secretary of state. If the selected party nominee's name is not placed on the ballot, all votes cast for the party's deceased candidate shall be attributed to the party nominee.
If the party nominee dies after noon on the seventh day prior to the general election day, there shall be no selected party nominee and no attestation shall be filed with or accepted by the secretary of state. All votes cast for the deceased party nominee shall be counted and if the deceased party nominee obtains the most votes cast for the party primary office in the general election, a vacancy in the party primary office shall be declared.
Political Party Candidates are Elected by Plurality Vote
Candidates for membership in the democratic and republican state central committee and parish executive committee in each parish are not classified as local candidates and are elected by plurality vote in accordance with La R.S. 18:443 and La R.S. 18:444. They have one closed party primary election every four years at the presidential preference primary election.
Where one political party candidate is to be elected, the candidate who receives the greater number of votes cast is elected if the number of candidates who qualified for office exceeds the number of candidates to be elected for that office.
Where two or more political party candidates are to be elected, each candidate who received the greater number of votes cast as compared with the number of votes cast for each other candidate is elected until all offices are filled. No run-off election is used and instead the offices are filled by a public drawing of lots conducted by the state central committee or the parish executive committee.
Candidates for Presidential Nominee are Elected by Majority Vote
The Presidential Preference Primary is held every four years in the spring of the presidential election year to select the nominee for the party by majority vote.
Candidates for Presidential Elector are Elected by Plurality Vote
Slates of candidates of electors for president and vice president are elected by plurality vote. If two or more slates of candidates receive the same highest number of votes, none of the slates are elected and the slate of candidates elected are selected by a public drawing of lots conducted by the state board of election supervisors at the state capitol on a day and time fixed by the board within one week after the results of the election become official. The governor issues a certificate of election to the persons elected and authorizes them to cast the vote of the state for president and vice president at the Electoral College.
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