Baton Rouge election guide: What to know before you cast your ballot

Election dates

• Party Primary Election: May 16
• 2nd Party Primary Election: June 27
• Congressional General Election/Open Party Election: Nov. 3
• Open General Election: Dec. 12

Voter Registration Deadlines

• Party Primary:

  • In person or by mail: April 15
  • Online (via GeauxVote): April 25

• 2nd Party Primary:

  • In person or by mail: May 27
  • Online (via GeauxVote): June 6

• Congressional General/Open Party

  • In person or by mail: Oct. 5
  • Online (via GeauxVote): Oct. 13

• Open General

  • In person or by mail: Nov. 12
  • Online (via GeauxVote): Nov. 21

Early Voting

• Party Primary: May 2-9 (excluding Sunday, May 3) from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
• 2nd Party Primary: June 12-20 (excluding Sunday, June 14, and Friday, June 19, for Juneteeth) from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Congressional General/Open Party: Oct. 20-27 (excluding Sunday, Oct. 25) from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Open General: Nov. 28-Dec. 5 (excluding Sunday, Nov. 29) from 8:30 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Absentee Ballots

• Request deadline:
  
  • Party Primary: May 12 by 4:30 p.m.
  • 2nd Party Primary: June 23 by 4:30 p.m.
  • Congressional General/Open Party: Oct. 30 by 4:30 p.m.
  • Open General: Dec. 8 by 4:30 p.m.
  • Note: Military, overseas voters, and hospitalized individuals may request ballots up to 4:30 p.m. CST the day before Election Day.

• Return deadline:

  • Primary: May 15 by 4:30 p.m.
  • 2nd Party Primary: June 26 by 4:30 p.m.
  • Congressional General/Open Party: Nov. 2 by 4:30 p.m.
  • Open General: Dec. 11 by 4:30 p.m.
  • Note: Deadlines apply to all except military and overseas voters.

Election Day poll hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Are you eligible?

To vote in Louisiana, you must be:

• Registered by the deadline
• At least 18 years old
• A U.S. citizen
• A legal resident
• Not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony
• Not judicially declared mentally incompetent

Are you registered?

The Louisiana Secretary of State's website has a voter portal you can use to check whether you’re registered to vote.

1. To find your voting information, select "Search by Voter" 
2. Enter your first and last name, zip code, birth month and year 
3. Click "Submit," and the portal should pull up your information 

If you missed the deadline, you won’t be able to vote, but you can register for the next election online. If you’ve moved, changed your name, address or party affiliation, you should notify the registrar of voters in your parish or make changes online.

Can you vote by mail?

Unless you’re a military or overseas voter, you’ll need to have a specific reason to vote absentee. If you’re eligible, you can request an absentee ballot through the state’s online voter portal or you may print and mail an application directly to your registrar of voters. Disabled, military and overseas voters may be able to get their absentee ballot electronically. For more information, they can contact their registrar of voters.

How to vote early 

If you’re registered to vote, you should be able to vote early.

Designated polling places will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for each day of early voting.

Here’s a list of early voting locations in East Baton Rouge Parish:

Motor Vehicle Building

2250 Main Street

Baker, LA 70714-2529

Fire Station Building

11010 Coursey Boulevard

Baton Rouge, LA 70816

Louisiana State Archive Building

3851 Essen Lane

Baton Rouge, LA 70809

Central Branch Library

11260 Joor Road

Baton Rouge, LA 70818

Baton Rouge City Hall
222 St. Louis Street, Room 604

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Find your polling place 

The state’s online voter portal tells you where to cast your vote. Search by voter or parish to find your polling location.

What should I bring to the polls?

You’ll need to have a current and valid photo ID with your signature.

Options include:

• Louisiana driver’s license
• Louisiana special ID 
• LA Wallet digital driver’s license
• Military ID
• Some other generally recognized picture ID 

If your ID does not have your picture or signature, you can still cast your vote by signature on a voter affidavit.

U.S. Senate: Democratic Primary

• Nick Albares
• Gary Crockett
• Jamie Davis

U.S. Senate: Republican Primary

• Bill Cassidy, Incumbent
• John Fleming
• Julia Letlow
• Mark Spencer

Public Service Commission: District 1 Republican Primary

• Wayne Cooper
• Stephanie Hilferty
• Big John Mason
• Mark Wright

Public Service Commission: District 5 Democratic Primary

• James Green
• Austin Lawson

Public Service Commission: District 5 Republican Primary

• John Atkins
• Aiden Joyner

Louisiana Supreme Court: District 1

• William "Billy" Burris
• Blair Downing Edwards

BESE District 1: Republican Primary

• Joseph Cao
• Michael Hollis
• Ellie Schroder

Editor's Note: Information for this guide is courtesy of the Public Affairs Research Council's "Guide to the 2026 Constitutional Amendments"

Amendment 1: Allows for removal of civil service protection from state employees

BALLOT LANGUAGE: Do you support an amendment to allow the legislature to remove or add officers, positions and employees to the unclassified state civil service?

A VOTE FOR: Allows lawmakers to remove state government jobs from the civil service system and its protections without needing approval from the Civil Service Commission.

A VOTE AGAINST: Retains the current provisions requiring the Civil Service Commission approval to exempt state jobs from the civil service system and its protections.

Amendment 2: Creates a separate school system for the City of St. George

BALLOT LANGUAGE: Do you support an amendment to grant the St. George community school system in East Baton Rouge Parish the same authority granted parishes for purposes of Article VIII, Section 13 of the Constitution of Louisiana, including purposes related to the minimum foundation program, funding for certain school books and instructional materials, and the raising of certain local revenues for the support of elementary and secondary schools?

A VOTE FOR: Authorizes the creation of the St. George Community School System in East Baton Rouge.

A VOTE AGAINST: Keeps the schools in the City of St. George in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.

Amendment 3: Dissolves state savings accounts to pay off teacher retirement system debt, increase teacher and school staff pay

BALLOT LANGUAGE: Do you support an amendment to fund a $2,250 teacher pay raise and a $1,125 support staff pay raise by utilizing the remaining savings from paying down the debt of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana with monies from certain constitutional funds?

A VOTE FOR: Dissolves three education trust funds and uses the money to pay down retirement debt and give public school teachers and support workers a permanent raise.

A VOTE AGAINST: Maintains the education trust funds and continues to distribute their investment earnings for early childhood education, K-12 schools and college programs.

Amendment 4: Allows local government to shrink or end business inventory taxes

BALLOT LANGUAGE: Do you support an amendment to allow a parish to reduce or exempt property tax on property held as business inventory and to provide for the classification of Public Service Property?

A VOTE FOR: Allows local governments to lessen or eliminate property taxes on business inventory and receive a one-time payment if they stop charging the tax.

A VOTE AGAINST: Continues the current system for local governments to charge property taxes on business inventory.

Amendment 5: Increase the age for the mandatory retirement of judges

BALLOT LANGUAGE: Do you support an amendment to change the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75, provided that a judge may continue to serve to complete a term of office?

A VOTE FOR: Raises the mandatory retirement age for judges to 75 years old.

A VOTE AGAINST: Keeps the mandatory retirement age for judges at 70 years old.