Louisiana conducts local and state elections using an open primary system, where any qualified elector may qualify as a candidate, regardless of party, and run for office and all eligible voters may cast a vote in the election, regardless of party affiliation. Some call this system a jungle primary because all candidates for an office run together in one election and the majority vote wins. If there is no majority vote winner in the primary election then the top two candidates go to a run-off election called a general election. This type of system is used in Louisiana for all offices state, parish, municipal and congressional, but it is not used for the presidential preference primary. 

• You may vote by absentee ballot in Louisiana if:
• You are a student or teacher located and living outside of your parish of registration, or the spouse/dependent thereof;
• You are 65 years of age or older;
• You are a minister, priest, rabbi, or other member of the clergy assigned outside of your parish of registration, or the spouse/dependent thereof;
• You are or expect to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from your parish of registration during the early voting period and on Election Day;
• You moved your residence to another parish more than 100 miles from the parish seat of your former residence after the voter registration books closed (the books close 30 days prior to Election Day);
• You are involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside your parish of registration and you are not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent;
• You expect to be hospitalized on Election Day and did not have knowledge until after the time for early voting had expired; you were hospitalized during the time for early voting and you expect to be hospitalized on Election Day; or you were either hospitalized or restricted to bed by your physician during early voting and on Election Day;
• You work or expect to be offshore working and expect to be out of your precinct of registration both during the early voting period and on Election Day because of your employment or occupation;
• You are incarcerated in an institution inside or outside of your parish of registration and you are not serving time for a felony conviction;
• You are a program participant in the Department of State’s Address Confidentiality Program;
• You will be sequestered on the day of Election Day; or
• You are the secretary of state, an employee of the secretary of state, or an employee of the registrar of voters.

If you are voting in person in Louisiana (including during early voting), you must present one of the following forms of valid photo ID at the time you vote (plus more if you’re a first time LA voter, see below):

• A Louisiana driver’s license or special ID card;
• A Louisiana Wallet digital driver’s license;
• A United States military identification card that contains the applicant's name and picture;
• Another generally recognized picture ID card that contains your name and signature

If you don’t have any of the above IDs, you can still cast a ballot by completing a sworn statement.

If you registered to vote in Louisiana for the first time, submitted your voter registration application by mail, and you didn’t provide your Louisiana driver’s license or special ID number, or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number when you registered to vote, you will also need to bring a photo ID, utility bill, bank statement, or other government document that shows your name and address in order to vote.