NEW ORLEANS — It's too late to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot for the November 2020 Election in Louisiana; the deadline was Oct. 30.
Thanks to a federal judge's ruling, Louisiana voters will get the same access to mail-in ballots in the November Election as they did in August, and that means most voters can get a mail-in ballot in La. because of the pandemic.
La. Sec. of State Kyle Ardoin said voters who fear getting COVID at the polls can apply for an absentee ballot — sometimes called a mail-in ballot. Can you vote by mail? Most can. Here's how to apply for a mail-in ballot. Here's how to correctly complete your absentee mail ballot to have your vote counted.
Mail-in ballots received by your registrar's office by the 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2 deadline will be counted election night by your parish board of election supervisors either by hand or with a digital scanner.
First, the name on your affidavit will be compared to names on a list of absentee ballots to determine if your ballot is valid.
A ballot may be rejected if:
- it is challenged successfully by a candidate or his or her representative, a member of the board, or a qualified elector for grounds of the applicant not being qualified to vote in the election or in the precinct, or not being the person whose name is shown as being registered to vote;
- the board has cause to reject the ballot; or
- the ballot contains a distinguishing mark or feature making the ballot susceptible of identification (cause may include failure to fill in any and/or all blanks on the affidavit).
Mail-in ballots must make it to your registrar's office by no later than 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2, the day before the election, but mailing your mail-in ballot isn't the only way to get it to your registrar of voters' office.
Here's how else you can deliver it:
- By Mail (includes commercial carriers like UPS and Fedex).
- By Fax: Upon request submitted to the registrar of voter
- By Hand Delivery: A voter or immediate family member of the voter may deliver the ballot to the registrar of voters (a signed statement must be completed upon delivery by anyone other that the voter, certifying their relationship to the voter).
- Emergency Provisions: There are emergency provisions in place for Military, Overseas and hospitalized voters.
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