Early voting in Louisiana starts November 2


Voters in Louisiana can begin casting early ballots on Nov. 2 for the Nov. 16 general elections. Early voting ends Nov. 9. There will be no early voting on Sunday, Nov. 3.
 
Louisiana is holding general elections for the following, in addition to other elections beyond Ballotpedia’s coverage scope:
 
  • Governor
  • Secretary of state
  • Four of 39 seats in the state Senate
  • 19 of 105 seats in the state House of Representatives
  • One of eleven seats on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Special election for Louisiana Supreme Court District 1
  • Special election for the 19th Judicial District Court, Section 2, Division L
 
Louisiana held primary elections on Oct. 12. In Louisiana, all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, face off in the primary election. Candidates can win elections outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the primary vote. If no candidate reaches that threshold, a general election is held between the top two vote-getters.
 
Headline races in Louisiana are the gubernatorial election and the state House of Representatives elections. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) and businessman Eddie Rispone (R) advanced from the primary. Edwards is the only Democratic governor in the Deep South. The Democratic Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association spent more than $5 million toward the race as of late September, and President Donald Trump (R) held a rally for Rispone and another Republican candidate ahead of the primary. If Edwards wins, the state will maintain a divided government; if Rispone wins, Louisiana will be a Republican trifecta, meaning the GOP will control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
 
Republicans secured a majority in the state House in the primaries. The general election will determine whether they gain a veto-proof majority of 70 seats in the chamber or whether Democrats and independents win enough seats to prevent that. Heading into the general, Republicans have secured 63 seats. Seven general elections feature one Republican and a candidate of a different affiliation. In the state Senate primaries, Republicans secured one seat more than the 26-seat threshold required to override gubernatorial vetoes.
 
Voters in New Orleans will also decide four local ballot measures:
  • a bond proposition,
  • a charter amendment to create a local Human Rights Commission,
  • a property tax proposition, and
  • a short-term rental tax proposition.