§ La. R.S. 18:1307(untitled)

Application by mail
A. A person qualified to vote absentee by mail under this Chapter may make application therefor
to the registrar by letter; over his signature or mark if the voter is unable to sign his name, signed by two
witnesses who witnessed the applicant's mark; setting forth:
(1) The election or elections for which he requests an absentee ballot.
(2) The reason for his request to vote absentee by mail and attaching any documents in support
thereof that are required by law. Any person who is or expects to be temporarily outside the territorial limits
of the state or absent from the parish in which he is qualified to vote during the early voting period and on
election day and who requests an absentee ballot be mailed to an address within the parish shall indicate in
his application the dates he will be outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from the parish.
(3) The address to which the absentee ballot or ballots shall be sent. If the address is within the
parish or an adjacent parish, such address shall only be the address at which the applicant is registered to
vote, his mailing address on file with the registrar of voters, or an address at which he regularly receives mail.
(4) Notwithstanding Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, the absentee by mail ballots shall not be sent
to the following addresses:
(a) The address of a political party.
(b) The residential, business, or campaign address of a candidate, unless the address is for the
candidate's ballot or a ballot of an immediate family member of the candidate.
(c) A business address, unless the business address is the mailing address on file with the registrar
of voters or an address at which the person regularly receives mail.
(d) The address of a political organization as defined in 26 U.S.C. 527.
(e) The address of an organization which has tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) or (4) of
the Internal Revenue Code, unless the organization address is the mailing address on file with the registrar
of voters or an address at which the person regularly receives mail.
(5) The ward and precinct in which the person is qualified to vote, if known.
(6) The date of birth of the voter.
(7) The maiden name of the voter's mother or other identifying information provided in the voter's
application for registration pursuant to R.S. 18:104.
(8) The street address in the parish where the voter resides. A post office box is insufficient.
(9) If the person requests that a ballot for a general election be sent in addition to a ballot for the
primary, he shall declare in writing to the registrar that he will be eligible to vote absentee by mail in the
general election.
B.(1)(a)(i) An application to vote by mail may be delivered to the registrar by any means, including
the United States Postal Service, commercial delivery service, hand delivery, or facsimile. No person except
the immediate family member of the voter, as defined in this Code, shall submit by any means or send for
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R.S. 18:1307
delivery by the United States Postal Service or commercial courier more than one marked ballot application
per election to the registrar of voters.
(ii) If hand delivered by other than a commercial delivery service or the United States Postal Service,
the registrar shall require that the person making such delivery sign the application. No person, except the
immediate family of any voter, shall hand deliver more than one voter's application to vote by mail to the
registrar of voters.
(iii) If sent by facsimile, the person sending the application by facsimile shall sign the application
to indicate that he is the sender and shall include the facsimile number from where the facsimile was sent.
No person, except the immediate family of any voter, shall send by facsimile more than one voter's
application to vote by mail to the registrar of voters. However, the provisions of this Item shall not apply
to an application by a person who is entitled to vote pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act.
(b) An application to vote by mail transmitted by facsimile to the registrar of voters shall not be sent
on a facsimile machine that is owned, operated, or under the control of a candidate or agent of a party or
campaign in the election, unless the application is for the candidate.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, with respect to members
of the United States Service and persons residing outside the United States who are registered to vote, an
application to vote by mail may be delivered to the registrar by electronic transmission.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, with respect to applicants
who have a valid Louisiana driver's license or Louisiana special identification card issued pursuant to R.S.
40:1321 who are registered to vote, an application to vote by mail may be made by completing and
submitting an electronic application to vote by mail on the secretary of state's website.
(2) Except as provided in Subsections C and D of this Section and R.S. 18:1333(D)(1), an
application must be received by the registrar not later than 4:30 p.m. on the fourth day prior to the election
for which it is requested, and the date received shall be noted thereon. However, if the deadline falls on a
Saturday, Sunday, or other legal holiday, then the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday
shall be deemed to be the final day of the deadline.
C. If the applicant is a member of the United States Service or resides outside the United States, he
may use the federal postcard application or an application electronically transmitted by the registrar or
secretary of state, and the application shall be received by the registrar no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day
before the election. Such application shall be valid for a period extending at least one year from the date the
application is received in the office of the registrar of voters; such period shall include at least one regularly
scheduled federal general election. If the registrar rejects the application of an applicant who is a member
of the United States Service or resides outside the United States, the registrar shall provide the applicant with
written reasons for the rejection.
D. If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(D)(1) and submits
with his application documentation showing his hospitalization from his physician or the hospital, the
application shall be received by the registrar of voters no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day before the election.
E. A person entitled to vote absentee by mail may request in his application for an absentee ballot
for a primary election that an absentee ballot for the succeeding general election be sent to him when such
ballots become available for distribution; however, in such case, the applicant shall declare in writing to the
registrar that he will be eligible to vote absentee by mail in the general election. For purposes of this
Subsection, a party primary election and the succeeding general election for a party primary office are two
separate elections. Separate requests shall be made to vote absentee by mail for the party primary election
and for the succeeding general election.
F. The registrar shall not send an absentee ballot to an applicant whose application for an absentee
ballot does not meet the requirements of Subsection A or B of this Section. If the registrar rejects an
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application for an absentee ballot, the registrar shall provide the applicant with written reasons for the
rejection.
G.(1)(a) If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(I), his
application, if such application meets the requirements of this Section, may remain valid indefinitely upon
request of the applicant.
(b) If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(F) or (J), his
application, if such application meets the requirements of this Section, may remain valid from the date that
the application is received in the office of the registrar of voters until December thirty-first of the fourth year
after the application is received by the registrar. If the applicant's application was received by the office of
the registrar of voters before January 1, 2025, his application shall expire December 31, 2029.
(2) If an absentee by mail ballot that has been sent to the applicant is returned to the registrar as
undeliverable, the applicant's application shall no longer be valid, and the registrar shall send notice by
forwardable mail to such applicant that his application will no longer be valid. The applicant shall be
required to submit a new application to the registrar that meets the requirements of this Section and provide
a current address before the applicant will be eligible to vote absentee by mail again pursuant to this Section.
H. If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(H), his application,
if such application meets the requirements of this Section, shall remain valid as long as the applicant is a
program participant in the Department of State Address Confidentiality Program pursuant to Part III of
Chapter 1 of Title 44 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. When the applicant ceases participation in
the program, the Department of State shall notify the registrar of the parish where the applicant is registered
to vote that the applicant is no longer a participant in the program. Upon receipt of the notification from the
Department of State, the registrar shall send notice by forwardable mail to the applicant that his application
will no longer be valid, and the applicant shall be required to submit a new application to the registrar that
meets the requirements of this Section and provide a current address before the applicant will be eligible to
vote absentee by mail again pursuant to this Section.
I. If the registrar of voters has reason to believe that the eligibility of a voter to vote absentee by mail
pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(I) is based upon false or fraudulent information, he shall immediately notify the
parish board of election supervisors. If, after appropriate hearing and opportunity for the voter to be heard,
the parish board of election supervisors finds that the voter's eligibility to vote absentee by mail was based
upon false or fraudulent information, the board shall inform the appropriate district attorney and the registrar
of voters who shall not allow the voter to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(I).
J. Except as otherwise authorized by law, no person, organization, or entity shall distribute an
application form for an absentee by mail ballot to any person who has not requested the application under
the provisions of this Section.
K.(1) If a gubernatorially declared state of disaster or emergency occurs within forty-five days of
an election, the secretary of state shall determine if the distribution of absentee by mail ballot applications
is necessary for voters displaced by the gubernatorially declared state of disaster or emergency.
(2) Upon the determination by the secretary of state of the need for the limited distribution of
absentee by mail ballot applications, the secretary shall provide notice to the Senate Committee on Senate
and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs within ten days
of the distribution.
L. The registrar shall not send an absentee ballot for a closed party primary election for which the
voter is not eligible.