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    Primary elections in Louisiana

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 22 min
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    Louisiana conducts a unique form of primary elections. The state employs a majority-vote system.[1] If a candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for an office, he or she wins outright. If, however, no candidate reaches that threshold, a second round of voting is held between the top two vote-getters. Any registered voter can participate in both the first-round and second-round elections. For more information on Louisiana's majority-vote system see here.

    See the sections below for general information on the use of primary elections in the United States and specific information on the types of elections held in Louisiana:

    1. Background: This section outlines the different types of primary election participation models used in the United States, including open primaries, closed primaries, semi-closed primaries, and top-two primaries. This section also details the various methods employed to determine the outcomes of primary elections.
    2. Election systems used in Louisiana: This section details the election systems employed in Louisiana, including elections for congressional and state-level offices (e.g., state legislative seats, state executive offices, etc).
    3. State legislation and ballot measures: This sections lists state legislation relevant to election policy in Louisiana.

    To learn more about the primaries that took place in Louisiana on November 8, 2022, click here.

    Note: HB17, signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry (R) on January 22, 2024, established closed partisan primaries and primary runoffs for Congress, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Louisiana Public Service Commission, and the Louisiana Supreme Court beginning in 2026.

    Background[edit]

    Seal of Louisiana.

    In general, there are two broad criteria by which primary elections can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction:

    1. Rules of participation: In jurisdictions that conduct partisan primaries, who can vote in a party's primary? Is participation limited to registered party members, or can other eligible voters (such as unaffiliated voters or voters belonging to other parties) participate? In general, there are three basic types of primary election participation models: open primaries, closed primaries, and semi-closed primaries.
    2. Methods for determining election outcomes: What share of the total votes cast does a candidate have to receive in order to advance to the general election? Methods for determining primary election outcomes include plurality voting systems, majority voting systems, top-two primaries, top-four primaries, and blanket primaries.

    For more complete information on these criteria, click "[Show more]" below.

    Show more

    Rules of participation[edit]

    The rules of participation in primary elections vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (in some cases, different political parties may enforce different participation criteria within a single jurisdiction). In general, there are three basic primary election participation models used in the United States:

    1. Open primaries: An open primary is any primary election in which a voter either does not have to formally affiliate with a political party in order to vote in its primary or can declare his or her affiliation with a party at the polls on the day of the primary even if the voter was previously affiliated with a different party.[2]
    2. Closed primaries: A closed primary is any primary election in which a voter must affiliate formally with a political party in advance in order to participate in that party's primary.[2]
    3. Semi-closed primaries: A semi-closed primary is one in which previously unaffiliated voters can participate in the primary of their choosing. Voters who previously affiliated with a political party who did not change their affiliations in advance cannot vote in another party's primary.[2]

    Methods for determining election outcomes[edit]

    Methods for tallying votes to determine a primary election's outcome include the following:

    1. Plurality voting system: In plurality systems, the candidate who wins the largest share of the vote wins the election. The candidate need not win an outright majority to be elected. These systems are sometimes referred to as first-past-the-post or winner-take-all systems.[3][4]
    2. Majority voting system: In majority systems, a candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote in order to win the election. In the event that no candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters. For this reason, majority systems are sometimes referred to as two-round systems. Ranked-choice voting is a specific type of majority voting system that may also be used in primary elections.[3][4]
    3. Top-two primaries: A top-two primary is one in which all candidates are listed on the same primary election ballot; the top two vote-getters, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to the general election. Consequently, it is possible that two candidates belonging to the same political party could win in a top-two primary and face off in the general election. Top-two primaries should not be confused with blanket primaries or top-four primaries. In a blanket primary, all candidates are listed on the same primary ballot; the top vote-getter from each party participating in the primary advances to the general election. In a top-four primary, all candidates are listed on the same primary ballot; the top-four vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party.[2][5][6]

    Election systems used in Louisiana[edit]

    See also: Louisiana majority-vote system

    Congressional and state-level elections[edit]

    In 20 states, at least one political party utilizes open primaries to nominate partisan candidates for congressional and state-level (e.g. state legislators, governors, etc.) offices. In 14 states, at least one party utilizes closed primaries to nominate partisan candidates for these offices. In 15 states, at least one party utilizes semi-closed primaries. In 5 states, top-two primaries or a variation are used.[7] These state primaries are a separate entity and are not included in the totals for open, closed, or semi-closed primaries.

    Louisiana does not conduct true primary elections. Instead, the state employs a majority-vote system. If a candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for an office, he or she wins outright. If, however, no candidate reaches that threshold, a second round of voting is held between the top two vote-getters. Any registered voter can participate in both the first-round and second-round elections. Louisiana's election system is sometimes classified as a top-two, jungle, or blanket primary system. Ballotpedia refers to the state's election system as the Louisiana majority-vote system.[8][2][9]


    State legislation and ballot measures[edit]

    Recent legislation related to primary elections in Louisiana[edit]

    The table below lists bills related to primary elections that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Louisiana. The following information is included for each bill:

    • State
    • Bill number
    • Official name or caption
    • Most recent action date
    • Legislative status
    • Topics dealt with by the bill

    Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.

    Primary systems ballot measures[edit]

    See also: Elections and campaigns on the ballot and List of Louisiana ballot measures

    Since 2017, Ballotpedia has tracked no ballot measures relating to primary elections in Louisiana.

    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker[edit]

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    The Ballot Bulletin[edit]

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    The Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy. The Ballot Bulletin tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker. You'll also be able to track relevant legislation, with links to and summaries of the bills themselves.

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    See also[edit]

    External links[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ Louisiana does conduct preference primaries in presidential election years.
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," May 26, 2023 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "ncslprimaries" defined multiple times with different content
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 FairVote, "Types of Voting Systems," accessed June 9, 2023
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Georgetown University, "Electoral Systems," accessed June 9, 2023
    5. ↑ Encyclopedia Brittanica, "Primary Election," accessed June 9, 2023
    6. ↑ Top-two primary systems, such as those utilized in California, Nebraska, and Washington, and variations of those systems, such as the top-four system used in Alaska and the majority-vote system used in Louisiana, are sometimes classified as open primary systems because voter participation in such primaries is not tied to partisan affiliation. For the purposes of this article, these primaries are considered to be a separate entity. For more information about top-two primaries and their variations, see this article.
    7. ↑ FairVote, "Who Can Vote in Congressional Primaries," accessed August 17, 2017
    8. ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Review Types of Elections," accessed July 24, 2017
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